On April 9, 2020, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an updated “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order (EO) 2020-42, which extends the state’s emergency declaration through April 30, 2020. The EO reaffirms the measures...more
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-21 - the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order - and various county emergency orders issued in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have raised numerous questions regarding their...more
The public health departments of Oakland County, Wayne County, Washtenaw County, and Ingham County have issued public health emergency orders instituting limits and protections for individuals permitted to work in person...more
We are experiencing extraordinary times. But even in our current situation of the global coronavirus pandemic, many employer responsibilities will still continue nearly unaffected. One of those is the requirement to properly...more
Most employers receive a garnishment from time to time, and some employers receive a lot of them. It is the employer’s legal obligation to administer garnishments exactly, and liability arises for the employer for...more
Recently, Illinois revised its wage assignment law. This development is important for multistate employers because Illinois is the only state with a statute that clearly and unequivocally provides that employers must honor...more
A frequent bone of contention for employees/debtors has to do with the implementation of out-of-state garnishments. The employee often threatens to sue the employer claiming that an out-of-state garnishment is not valid...more
A rare and interesting thing in the world of federal garnishment law has just occurred: the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) updated its published position concerning the meaning of “earnings” pursuant...more
On October 20, 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission issued a guidance aimed at alerting human resources professionals on potential violations of the antitrust laws. According...more
A business dispute in Michigan may provide insight into the consideration required to support a noncompete contract restricting future employment. Innovation Ventures, LLC v. Liquid Manufacturing, LLC, No. 150591, Michigan...more
What employer would not like to reduce its legal risks and administrative costs? The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) presented employers with just that opportunity when on July 13, 2016 it finished three years of studying and...more
The requirements and processes applicable to employers handling garnishments are primarily governed by state law—meaning that multi-state employers need to be aware of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) in...more
The requirements and processes applicable to employers handling garnishments are primarily governed by state laws. Therefore, in addition to the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), multistate employers need to be...more
A wage garnishment is a court order that assists plaintiffs with the collection of judgments. Such an order requires an entity to withhold money (i.e., wages) owed to a judgment debtor and divert it to a judgment creditor in...more
Today, much-needed attention is being paid to wage garnishments. National Public Radio (NPR) released a story concerning the increasing use of wage garnishments to collect debts. The NPR piece relies on a report also released...more
An order for a wage garnishment is surprisingly complex to administer and very risky for employers. For instance, if an employer does not answer a garnishment within 14 days or do any other act required by the court, it is...more
In part one of this two-part series on garnishments, I discussed the consequences employers face if they mishandle garnishment orders. In part two, I address one of the hurdles that employers face when trying to comply with...more
Employers should never ignore and always strictly follow a garnishment. It is a court order directing the employer to perform a certain act. Therefore, employers should always answer the garnishment even when the person is...more
Many employers aren’t aware that a failure to properly administer a garnishment of an employee’s wages can result in employer liability for a significant amount of money. In most states, an employer that makes even the...more