Employer’s Responsibilities in Garnishing Workers’ Wages By Jeffrey Smoot

{10481/T321629. DOCX} Employer’s Responsibilities in Garnishing Workers’ Wages By Jeffrey Smoot A payroll clerk for a Seattle telecommunications company was recently served with a writ of garnishment against an employee s wages. While processing the... More

{10481/T321629. DOCX} Employer’s Responsibilities in Garnishing Workers’ Wages By Jeffrey Smoot A payroll clerk for a Seattle telecommunications company was recently served with a writ of garnishment against an employee s wages. While processing the garnishment, the clerk discovered the employee was not at the company, although they had similar names, and she filed the writ away and forgot about it, until one month later, when she was fired. Unfortunately for her and her employer, the creditor had obtained a judgment against the employer for the full amount of the debt owed by the non-employee. Even though the debtor was not an employee, the employer s failure to answer had subjected it to liability for the entire debt. Fortunately, the creditor s attorney was willing to dismiss the judgment for about $500, the amount of attorney s fees and costs incurred in obtaining the judgment. Had the attorney been unyielding, as many Seattle business attorneys are, the employer would have be Less