Minnesota Wage Garnishment: Minnesota Child Support Garnishment

Minnesota wage garnishment is enforced on a noncustodial parent through an order for support for a child. This child support garnishment order is generally served on any party that provides the noncustodial parent with income, such as an employer or independent administrator of income. The employer or administrator of other funds must remit payment to the agency that issued the support order in a timely manner, and should follow Minnesota wage garnishment laws closely. Continue reading for more on the Minnesota child support collection process.

Minnesota Child Support Collection

A support order in Minnesota is an order, decree, or judgment from a court or administrative agency, issued for monetary support, childcare, medical support (including for confinement and pregnancy), arrearages, or reimbursement. A support order can include these and other types of expenses associated with the support of a child, even when they have reached the age of majority. It may also include expenses for related costs and fees, as well as interest and penalties. After a support order has been assigned to a noncustodial parent, the issuing court or agency may request the following information: address, phone number(s), email address, employment status, wage payment information, benefit information, and Social Security number.

Who Withholds the Money 

When a “payor of funds” is served with a support order, they are legally bound to enforce the order until its date of termination, or until the issuing court or agency otherwise notifies them to cease enforcement. For purposes of Minnesota child support collections, the term “payor of funds” means any type of employer, entity, agency, independent contractor, or an administrator of other sources of payments such as pension plans, workers’ compensation, or third-party sick pay insurance.

When is Money Withheld 

When an employer or other payor of funds is served with an order for support, they should begin withholding no later then the first pay period that occurs fourteen days after they receive the order. Sometimes the order will include a beginning date for the fourteen days, in which case the employer should adhere to this printed date rather than the date of receipt. If the order does not have a specified payment that the employer should remit for each payday, the employer should take the monthly payment that is due to the agency and multiply this number by twelve. Then, divide this number by the number of paydays in a year to get the total amount to remit each pay period.

Out-of-State Orders 

Like all other states, Minnesota has adopted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA). The UIFSA mandates that an employer honor all support orders received from another state. However, the degree to which the other state’s laws govern enforcement of that support order varies. To determine the duration of the order, the amount of payment, and where to send the payment, the employer should follow the issuing state’s laws. However, the issues of defining disposable earnings, withholding limits, when to begin and remit withholding, how to allocate orders when there are two or more, the procedures to follow upon the employee’s termination, and proper administrative fees to withhold, will all be determined according to Minnesota law.