Utah Code 26B-9-217. Requirement to honor voluntary assignment of earnings — Discharge of employee prohibited — Liability for discharge — Earnings subject to support lien or garnishment
26B-9-217. Requirement to honor voluntary assignment of earnings — Discharge of employee prohibited — Liability for discharge — Earnings subject to supportlien or garnishment.
(1)
Terms Used In Utah Code 26B-9-217
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
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
Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
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.
Person: includes an individual, firm, corporation, association, political subdivision, department, or office. See Utah Code 26B-9-201
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Support: includes past-due, present, and future obligations established by:
(a)
a tribunal or imposed by law for the financial support, maintenance, medical, or dental care of a dependent child; and
(b)
a tribunal for the financial support of a spouse or former spouse with whom the obligor's dependent child resides if the obligor also owes a child support obligation that is being enforced by the state. See Utah Code 26B-9-201
Support debt: means the debt created by nonpayment of support. See Utah Code 26B-9-201
Every person, firm, corporation, association, political subdivision, or department of the state shall honor, according to its terms, a duly executed voluntary assignment of earnings which is presented by the office as a plan to satisfy or retire a support debt or obligation.
(b)
The requirement to honor an assignment of earnings, and the assignment of earnings itself, are applicable whether the earnings are to be paid presently or in the future, and continue in effect until released in writing by the office.
(c)
Payment of money pursuant to an assignment of earnings presented by the office shall serve as full acquittance under any contract of employment, and the state shall defend the employer and hold the employer harmless for any action taken pursuant to the assignment of earnings.
(d)
The office shall be released from liability for improper receipt of money under an assignment of earnings upon return of any money so received.
(2)
An employer may not discharge or prejudice any employee because the employee’s earnings have been subjected to support lien, wage assignment, or garnishment for any indebtedness under this part.
(3)
If an employer discharges an employee in violation of Subsection (2), the employer is liable to the employee for the damages the employee may suffer, and, additionally, to the office in an amount equal to the debt which is the basis of the assignment or garnishment, plus costs, interest, and attorney fees, or a maximum of $1,000, whichever is less.
(4)
The maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings of an individual for any work pay period which may be subjected to a garnishment to enforce payment of a judicial or administrative judgment arising out of failure to support dependent children may not exceed 50% of the individual’s disposable earnings for the work pay period.
(5)
The support lien or garnishment shall continue to operate and require the employer to withhold the nonexempt portion of earnings at each succeeding earnings disbursement interval until released in writing by the court or office.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 305, 2023 General Session
