Live in New Jersey work in Pennsylvania

[trouble1]

Hello. I was wondering if anyone could answer this question that has had this issue or knows someone who has. I live in New Jersey but I work in Pennsylvania. My employer is ONLY based in PA and payroll is from PA, etc...

Can a creditor garnish wages?? New Jersey DOES allow wage garnishments but Pennsylvania does NOT? Since I work in PA and that is where I am paid from, can they still garnish wages since I LIVE in New Jersey??

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[markdel16]

How about if you live in PA and work in NJ? Can they garnish?

[markdel16]

Wow, that definitely makes me happy, as I haven't filed yet, and stopped paying 5 months ago.. Perhaps, I can drag this out a bit longer since there's no fear of a garnishment, and I have negative equity, no assets, and my cars aren't worth diddly.

[catleg]

The best answer I've seen to this points out that garnishment is between the court and the employer. So if the employer has no contacts with NJ they are probably not bound to obey the court order. They can go after any of your assets in NJ but your wages should be OK. Check this page out:

http://www.gregartim.com/garnishment.htm

[trouble1]

I truly do appreciate everyone taking the time to try and help clear up this issue, but again, as you can see above in this thread there are two answers - one says yes they can, one says no they can't. I am so confused! I am just trying to be as prepared as possible and/or put my mind at ease to know if they can garnish wages, or which state it goes by, etc.... I understand the comment above about working for Wal-Mart and it was a great example, BUT if they are garnishing wages from the employer and they are located in PA and those laws do not allow wage garnishments, then I dont see how they could. Then again if PA must honor the NJ decision, I guess that's a different story.

[trouble1]

I guess one resolution would be to get an apartment on the other side of the bridge in PA and that would resolve all the issues huh?

[BigJohn]

The best answer I've seen to this points out that garnishment is between the court and the employer. So if the employer has no contacts with NJ they are probably not bound to obey the court order. They can go after any of your assets in NJ but your wages should be OK. Check this page out:
http://www.gregartim.com/garnishment.htm

I had one f the northern States, I think it was Minnesota. They wanted me to enforce their State garnishment laws inregards to one of my employees. As far as I could see, they had no juridiction over my business so nothing happened.

[catleg]

I truly do appreciate everyone taking the time to try and help clear up this issue, but again, as you can see above in this thread there are two answers - one says yes they can, one says no they can't. I am so confused! I am just trying to be as prepared as possible and/or put my mind at ease to know if they can garnish wages, or which state it goes by, etc.... I understand the comment above about working for Wal-Mart and it was a great example, BUT if they are garnishing wages from the employer and they are located in PA and those laws do not allow wage garnishments, then I dont see how they could. Then again if PA must honor the NJ decision, I guess that's a different story.

Well you could always just go ask your payroll department at work.

Here's another opinion

[catleg]

Lest anyone have any doubts that the court system serves as the "back office" of the debt collection industry, I found an interesting appellate case in NJ today. A JDB tried to do a wage garnishment against a Stop N Shop employee by serving their registered agent. The judge who issued the original judgment, in a different county, ordered that the execution be done by sheriff's officers in his county. You have to realize here that the reason for this behavior is that in NJ special civil part the deputies are commissioned at a rate of 10% of whatever they help to collect. So in other words, this judge in Cape May County, which is a pretty isolated place, didn't want the sheriff's deputies in Mercer County to get the commission on the garnishment. Meanwhile, when the deputies went to the store location in Cape May, it was already out of business! Hilarious reading.

http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/decisions/appellate/a4456-07.opn.html

[markdel16]

Hmm, didn't think of that, that throws a kink in things. Though I live in PA, and work in NJ, my bank is in NJ. Time to start worrying again.

[catleg]

I don't know, BB, it is pretty bleak for the judgment debtor in both of these states with money in the bank. You're better off not letting them find out where you bank. In theory Penna has a $300 personal exemption, and NJ has $1000 of any property but I've never heard of it being used to offset a bank attachment.

It seems pretty clear that the exemption for wages earned and due to an employee rests with the employER and not the employEE. So once they hit your bank they're fair game.

I really can't say whether the wage garnishment from NJ would be enforceable in Penna, my gut hunch is no, but I can't find any case law either way. I found a NJ divorce action ordering garnishment against a NYC police/fire pension fund which the fund seemed inclined to agree to without any NYC court intervention, but again that was a nasty divorce not a creditor.

[trouble1]

[catleg]

http://ezinearticles.com/?Pennsylvania-Wage-Garnishment-Law&id=1678214

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.

Greg Artim is a consumer attorney based in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. For more answers to your PA Wage Garnishment questions, be sure to visit his website at PA Garnishment Attorney