Can my wages be garnished? That may be the number one question that I receive at my office from individuals who are facing a credit card or debt collection lawsuit.

In Pennsylvania, the answer is no, with conditions. Pennsylvania is one of only four states (at the time of this writing) that does not allow wage garnishment for credit card/collection agency lawsuits. Let me explain the conditions now. First, the individual must live and work in PA to be protected. Second, and this is a big one, the lawsuit must have been filed in Pennsylvania as well. If you can meet all three of the listed criteria, your wages cannot be garnished here in our state.

What is unclear is what happens if you are sued in another state? Or if you live in PA now but previously lived in another state where judgment was entered? There is not a whole lot of case law on interstate debt collection regarding Pennsylvania. There is also a bit of a conflict in the law here. Pennsylvania does not allow wage garnishment for this type of debt. However, the federal Full Faith and Credit Clause sets forth that all states must honor the judicial rulings of other states. On the other hand, our state Attorney General, although not the final arbiter on the issue, has set forth an opinion that this clause is contrary to Pennsylvania law on this issue and that wage garnishment are not permissible. A final decision needs to be rendered on this recurring subject.

Unfortunately, the fact that wage garnishments cannot occur in PA does not stop unethical debt collectors from making such a threat. That is the basis for the telephone calls to my office. Joe Debtor has defaulted on a credit card account. His account gets transferred to a collection agency. The collection agency then calls Joe and demands payment. When he advises that he cannot afford to pay, the collection agency threatens a wage garnishment. There are two problems with such a threat. The first is that the threat cannot be carried out because wage garnishment is not legal in PA for those purposes. The second is that the debt collector has just violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based upon his illegal threat. If this happens to you, you will have the right to file a lawsuit against the collection agency for monetary damages.

There are a few scenarios where wage garnishment is legal in Pennsylvania. These are very limited in scope and are as follows:

1) for judgments regarding spousal or child support;
2) for failure to pay PHEAA student loans;
3) for room and board for 4 weeks or less;
4) for back rent on a residential lease; and
5) for obligations relating to a final divorce distribution.

By: Greg Artim