Virginia Law

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (b1), the maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings of an individual for any workweek that is subjected to garnishment may not exceed the lesser of the following amounts:

(1) Twenty-five percent of his disposable earnings for that week; or

(2) The amount by which his disposable earnings for that week exceed 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) or the Virginia minimum hourly wage prescribed by § 40.1-28.10, whichever is greater, in effect at the time earnings are payable.

In the case of earnings for any pay period other than a week, the State Commissioner of Labor and Industry shall by regulation prescribe a multiple of the federal or Virginia minimum hourly wage equivalent in effect to that set forth in this section.

(b) The restrictions of subsection (a) do not apply in the case of:

(1) Any order for the support of any person issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or in accordance with an administrative procedure that is established by state law, affords substantial due process, and is subject to judicial review.

(2) Any order of any court of bankruptcy under Chapter XIII of the Bankruptcy Act.

(3) Any debt due for any state or federal tax.

(b1) The maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings of an individual for any workweek that is subject to garnishment to enforce any order for the support of any person shall not exceed:

(1) Sixty percent of such individual's disposable earnings for that week; or

(2) If such individual is supporting a spouse or dependent child other than the spouse or child with respect to whose support such order was issued, 50 percent of such individual's disposable earnings for that week.

The 50 percent specified in subdivision (2) shall be 55 percent and the 60 percent specified in subdivision (1) shall be 65 percent if and to the extent that such earnings are subject to garnishment to enforce an order for support for a period that is more than 12 weeks prior to the beginning of such workweek.

(c) No court of the Commonwealth and no state agency or officer may make, execute, or enforce any order or process in violation of this section.

The exemptions allowed herein shall be granted to any person so entitled without any further proceedings.

(d) For the purposes of this section:

(1) The term "earnings" means compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, payments to an independent contractor, or otherwise, whether paid directly to the individual or deposited with another entity or person on behalf of and traceable to the individual, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program,

(2) The term "disposable earnings" means that part of the earnings of any individual remaining after the deduction from those earnings of any amounts required by law to be withheld, and

(3) The term "garnishment" means any legal or equitable procedure through which the earnings of any individual are required to be withheld for payment of any debt.

(e) Every assignment, sale, transfer, pledge, or mortgage of the wages or salary of an individual that is exempted by this section, to the extent of the exemption provided by this section, shall be void and unenforceable by any process of law.

(f) No employer may discharge any employee by reason of the fact that his earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness.

(g) A depository wherein earnings have been deposited on behalf of and traceable to an individual shall not be required to determine the portion of such earnings that are subject to garnishment.

Code 1919, § 6555; 1928, p. 348; 1938, p. 574; 1948, p. 489; 1952, c. 432; 1954, cc. 143, 379; 1958, cc. 217, 417; 1960, c. 498; 1970, c. 428; 1978, c. 564; 1992, c. 674; 1996, c. 330; 2005, c. 286; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 8.

Repealed by Acts 1970, c. 428.

Any judgment creditor, upon having a garnishment summons issued upon a judgment against the judgment debtor named in such certificate, may give five days' written notice, to be served personally on the employer and the judgment debtor by any officer authorized by law to serve civil process, that he will apply to the court or judge who issued such certificate to have the same revoked, and, upon proof that the holder of the certificate is no longer entitled to the exemption allowed thereby, the court or judge shall revoke the same and require the holder to deliver such certificate to the court, which shall cancel the same.

Code 1919, § 6556; 1932, p. 384; 1936, p. 378; 1974, c. 272.

No person shall institute or permit to be instituted proceedings in his own name or in the name of any other person or shall assign or transfer, either for or without value, any claim for debt or liability of any kind held by him against a resident of the Commonwealth who is a laboring person and a householder for the purpose of having payment of the same or any part thereof enforced out of the wages exempted by § 34-29 by proceedings in attachment or garnishment in courts or before magistrates in any other state than the Commonwealth, or to send out of the Commonwealth by assignment, transfer or in any other manner whatsoever, either for or without value, any claim or debt against any resident thereof for the purpose or with the intent of depriving such person of the right to have his wages exempt from distress, levy or garnishment according to the provisions of § 34-29. And the person instituting such suit or permitting such suit to be instituted or sending, assigning, or transferring any such claim or debt for the purpose or with the intent aforesaid shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than $10 nor more than $100 and shall, in addition thereto, be civilly liable to the person from whom payment of the same, or any part thereof, shall have been enforced by attachment or garnishment or otherwise, elsewhere than in the Commonwealth, for the full amount, payment whereof shall have been so enforced, together with interest thereon and the costs of the attachment or garnishee proceedings, as well as the costs of such action.

The amount recovered in such action shall stand on the same footing with the wages of the plaintiff under § 34-29 and shall be exempt and free from any and all liability of the plaintiff to the defendant in the way of setoff or otherwise.

The fact that the payment of a claim or debt against any person entitled to the exemption provided for in § 34-29 has been enforced by legal proceedings in some state other than the Commonwealth in such manner as to deprive such person to any extent of the benefit of such exemption shall be prima facie evidence that any resident of the Commonwealth who may at any time have been owner or holder of the claim or debt has violated this section.

Code 1919, § 6557; 1954, c. 613; 1974, c. 272; 2005, c. 839.

The wages of a minor shall not be liable to garnishment or otherwise liable to the payment of the debts of parents.

Code 1919, § 6558.

A. For the purposes of this section:

"Alternate payee" shall have the same meaning as provided under § 206 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). In the case of a retirement plan that is not subject to ERISA, the term "alternate payee" means an individual who has an interest in a retirement plan pursuant to a judgment, decree, or order, including approval of a property settlement agreement, that would be described in § 206(d)(3)(B) of ERISA if the retirement plan were subject to ERISA.

"Annual benefit" means an amount payable as an annuity for the lifetime of the individual who claims the exemption provided under this section, assuming that annuity payments will commence upon the individual's attainment of age sixty-five or, if the individual attained age sixty-five on or before the exemption provided under this section is claimed, the individual's age on the date that the exemption is claimed.

"Retirement plan" means a plan, account, or arrangement that is intended to satisfy the requirements of United States Internal Revenue Code §§ 401, 403 (a), 403 (b), 408, 408 A, 409 (as in effect prior to repeal by United States P.L. 98-369), or § 457. Whether a plan, account, or arrangement is intended to satisfy the requirements of one of the foregoing provisions shall be determined based on all of the relevant facts and circumstances including, but not limited to, the issuance of a favorable determination letter by the United States Internal Revenue Service, reports or returns filed with United States or state agencies, and communications from the plan sponsor to participants.

B. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the interest of an individual under a retirement plan shall be exempt from creditor process to the same extent permitted under federal bankruptcy law for such a plan. The exemption provided by this section shall be available whether such individual has an interest in the retirement plan as a participant, beneficiary, contingent annuitant, alternate payee, or otherwise.

C. The exemption provided under subsection B shall not apply to claims made against an individual by the alternate payee of such individual or to claims made against such individual by the Commonwealth in administrative actions pursuant to Chapter 19 (§ 63.2-1900 et seq.) of Title 63.2 or any court process to enforce a child or child and spousal support obligation.

D. If two individuals who are married or were married are entitled to claim the exemption provided under subsection B of an interest under the same retirement plan or plans and such individuals are jointly subject to creditor process as to the same debt or obligation and the debt or obligation arose during the marriage, then the exemption provided under subsection B as to such debts or obligations shall not exceed, in the aggregate, the exemption permitted under federal bankruptcy law for such a plan. The exemption permitted under federal bankruptcy law shall be allocated among such persons in the same proportion as their respective interests in the retirement plan or plans.

E. The exemption provided under this section must be claimed within the time limits prescribed by § 34-17.

1990, c. 425; 1992, c. 716; 1996, c. 330; 1999, cc. 766, 796; 2005, c. 284; 2007, c. 302.