(1) Except as provided in this section, 75 percent of the disposable earnings of an individual are exempt from execution.

Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 18.385

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Execution: means enforcement of the money award portion of a judgment or enforcement of a judgment requiring delivery of the possession or sale of specific real or personal property, by means of writs of execution, writs of garnishment and other statutory or common law writs or remedies that may be available under the law. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor

(2) The disposable earnings of an individual are exempt from execution to the extent that payment under a garnishment would result in net disposable earnings for an individual of less than the following amounts:

(a) $254 for any period of one week or less;

(b) $509 for any two-week period;

(c) $545 for any half-month period;

(d) $1,090 for any one-month period; and

(e) For any other period longer than one week, $254 multiplied by that fraction produced by dividing the number of days for which the earnings are paid by seven. The amount calculated under this paragraph must be rounded to the nearest dollar.

(3) If an individual is paid for a period shorter than one week, the exemption calculated under subsection (2) of this section may not exceed $254 for any one-week period.

(4) An employer shall deduct from the amount of disposable earnings determined to be nonexempt under subsections (1) to (3) of this section any amounts withheld from the individual’s earnings for the same period of time under an order issued pursuant to ORS § 25.378 or 419B.408 or ORS Chapter 110. The employer shall make payment under a garnishment only of those amounts remaining after the deduction is made.

(5) Subsections (1) to (4) of this section do not apply to:

(a) Any order of a court of bankruptcy.

(b) Any debt due for federal tax.

(6) Subsections (2) to (4) of this section do not apply to any debt due for state tax. Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to a debt due for state tax if a state agency issues a special notice of garnishment under ORS § 18.855 (6).

(7) A court may not make, execute or enforce any order or process in violation of this section.

(8) Any waiver by an individual of the provisions of this section is void.

(9) An employer may not discharge any individual because the individual has had earnings garnished. [Formerly 23.186; 2007 c.496 9,14; 2011 c.228 § 1; 2019 c.263 § 1; 2021 c.597 § 41]

 

[Amended by 1961 c.151 § 3; 1983 c.696 § 4; repealed by 1985 c.343 § 14]

 

(Homesteads)

 

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