(a)  Any wage withholding agent failing to comply with any requirements in § 15-5-24 and § 15-5-25 may be punished by the court for civil contempt. The court shall first afford the wage withholding agent a reasonable opportunity to purge itself of contempt.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 15-5-26

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.

(b)  Any wage withholding agent who fails or refuses to deliver income pursuant to an order under § 15-5-24 and § 15-5-25, when the garnishing agent has had in its possession the income, shall be personally liable for the amount of the income which the wage withholding agent failed or refused to deliver, together with costs, interest, and reasonable attorney’s fees.

(c)  Any wage withholding agent who dismisses, demotes, disciplines, or in any way penalizes an obligor on account of any proceeding to collect support, on account of any order or orders entered by the court in the proceeding, or on account of the wage withholding agent’s compliance with the order or orders, shall be liable to the obligor for all damages, together with costs, interest thereon, and reasonable attorney’s fees resulting from the action, and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100). The wage withholding agent shall be required to make full restitution to the aggrieved obligor including reinstatements and back pay.

(d)  A wage withholding agent may be enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction from continuing any action in violation of § 15-5-24 and § 15-5-25.

(e)  Any proceeding against a wage withholding agent under this section must be commenced within ninety (90) days after a wage withholding agent’s act or failure to act upon which the proceeding is based.

(f)  Compliance by a wage withholding agent with an order issued under § 15-5-24 and § 15-5-25 operates as a discharge of the wage withholding agent’s liability to the obligor as to that portion of the obligor’s income so affected.

History of Section.
P.L. 1980, ch. 304, § 1; P.L. 1984, ch. 199, § 2; P.L. 1985, ch. 143, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 170, § 1.