Hire a Garnishment Attorney If You've Received Notifications to Garnish an Employee's Wages

As an employer, you likely pay each of your staff members a set amount on a set schedule. However, if you've received a notification that you're required to begin to garnish one of your employee's wages so that you can transfer this money to the government or to another creditor, your approach to paying this person will change dramatically. If you haven't been through wage garnishment in the past, it's advantageous to consult with an attorney who specializes in garnishment law, such as Stuart J Sinsheimer Attorney at Law. He or she can guide you through these uncharted waters to ensure that you do everything correctly. Here are some ways that a garnishment attorney will help you.

What You Cannot Touch

The laws concerning wage garnishment are strict, but they can be difficult to navigate when you're in this situation for the first time. There are different wage garnishment limits in different states, and the last thing that you want to do is mistakenly set aside more of the employee's wages than you're legally permitted to do. This would not only lead to financial difficulties for this staff member but could also result in you facing legal action. An attorney will guide you through this process to ensure that you don't make any errors.

How to Talk to the Employee

Dealing with the human side of wage garnishment is often a challenging situation for employers. In a sense, you're a person who is stuck in the middle. What the employee owes and to whom he or she owes it has virtually nothing to do with you, but you're the one who will be setting this money aside and thus may be the target of the person's anger. You can expect some sort of discussion with the employee, and he or she may be extremely upset with the situation. Your legal professional will help you to understand how to best address this scenario with your staff member.

The Order in which to Garnish Wages

If you have someone who works for you who owes money to a lot of creditors, you might receive multiple requests to garnish this person's wages. It can be difficult for you to know how to proceed because you don't want to inadvertently set money aside for one creditor when another has priority. Your attorney will talk to you about the best order in which to garnish this person's wages so that you protect yourself from any sort of complications.