Legal Question in Employment Law in Washington

Garnishment - Privacy

I live in washington state. I worked for an employer who was garnishing my wages for a student loan. another garnishment came through in August 2007 from a different company but my wages couldnt be garnished. my employer answered the garnishment with the 2nd answer in February. The first garnishment ended in april 2008. 2 weeks after the garnishment ended. my employer deducted 25% of my earnings & sent it to the 2nd company without a current writ. they then called the second company to let them know that my first garnishment had ended. the 2nd company then filed a writ making it legal to continue. my question is, i quit my job over this. do i have legal recourse & can i claim unemployment?


Asked on 8/10/08, 8:58 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Susan Beecher Susan L. Beecher, Atty at Law

Re: Garnishment - Privacy

Your employer certainly didn't do you any favors, but I don't know that it had a legal obligation not to disclose that you finished your first garnishment.

It was not legally correct to withhold without a current writ, however. Talk with the Department of Labot & Industries. I don't know if they will help you or not, because ultimately, you got the benefit of the improperly withheld pay (it was used to reduce your personal debt). But that will be your best shot on that issue.

You can try applying for unemployment compensation. If Employment Security deems the improper withholding to be "illegal activity", you might get it, but it's a longshot.

In my opinion, you do not have any other legal recourse, but you may want to check with another attorney (or possibly there will be another response to your post) just to be sure.

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Answered on 8/10/08, 11:28 pm


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