Washington Code 9.94A.7604 – Legal financial obligations — Notice of payroll deduction — Employer or entity rights and responsibilities
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(1) An employer or entity upon whom a notice of payroll deduction is served, shall make an answer to the department within twenty days after the date of service. The answer shall confirm compliance and institution of the payroll deduction or explain the circumstances if no payroll deduction is in effect. The answer shall also state whether the offender is employed by or receives earnings from the employer or entity, whether the employer or entity anticipates paying earnings, and the amount of earnings. If the offender is no longer employed, or receiving earnings from the employer or entity, the answer shall state the present employer or entity’s name and address, if known.
Terms Used In Washington Code 9.94A.7604
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- disposable earnings: means that part of the earnings of any individual remaining after the deduction from those earnings of any amount required by law to be withheld. See Washington Code 9.94A.7601
- earnings: means compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, hours, or otherwise, and notwithstanding any other provision of law making such payments exempt from garnishment, attachment, or other process to satisfy court-ordered legal financial obligations, specifically includes periodic payments pursuant to pension or retirement programs, or insurance policies of any type. See Washington Code 9.94A.7601
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- obligee: means the department, party, or entity to whom the legal financial obligation is owed, or the department, party, or entity to whom the right to receive or collect support has been assigned. See Washington Code 9.94A.7601
- person: may be construed to include the United States, this state, or any state or territory, or any public or private corporation or limited liability company, as well as an individual. See Washington Code 1.16.080
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
(2) Service of a notice of payroll deduction upon an employer or entity requires an employer or entity to immediately make a mandatory payroll deduction from the offender/employee’s unpaid disposable earnings. The employer or entity shall thereafter at each pay period deduct the amount stated in the notice divided by the number of pay periods per month. The employer or entity must remit the proper amounts to the appropriate clerk of the court on each date the offender/employee is due to be paid.
(3) The employer or entity may combine amounts withheld from the earnings of more than one employee in a single payment to the clerk of the court, listing separately the amount of the payment that is attributable to each individual employee.
(4) The employer or entity may deduct a processing fee from the remainder of the employee’s earnings after withholding under the notice of payroll deduction, even if the remainder is exempt under RCW 9.94A.761. The processing fee may not exceed:
(a) Ten dollars for the first disbursement made by the employer to the clerk of the court; and
(b) One dollar for each subsequent disbursement made under the notice of payroll deduction.
(5) The notice of payroll deduction shall remain in effect until released by the department or the court enters an order terminating the notice.
(6) An employer shall be liable to the obligee for the amount of court-ordered legal financial obligation moneys that should have been withheld from the offender/employee’s earnings, if the employer:
(a) Fails or refuses, after being served with a notice of payroll deduction, to deduct and promptly remit from unpaid earnings the amounts of money required in the notice; or
(b) Fails or refuses to submit an answer to the notice of payroll deduction after being served. In such cases, liability may be established in superior court. Awards in superior court shall include costs, interest under RCW 19.52.020 and 4.56.110, reasonable attorney fees, and staff costs as part of the award.
(7) No employer who complies with a notice of payroll deduction under this chapter may be liable to the employee for wrongful withholding.
(8) No employer may discipline or discharge an employee or refuse to hire a person by reason of an action authorized in this chapter. If an employer disciplines or discharges an employee or refuses to hire a person in violation of this section, the employee or person shall have a cause of action against the employer. The employer shall be liable for double the amount of lost wages and any other damages suffered as a result of the violation and for costs and reasonable attorney fees, and shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars for each violation. The employer may also be ordered to hire, rehire, or reinstate the aggrieved individual.
[ 1991 c 93 § 5. Formerly RCW 9.94A.200020.]
NOTES:
Retroactive application—Captions not law—1991 c 93: See notes following RCW 9.94A.7601.