Can my employer fire me because of this garnishment?

Federal law says no employer may discharge an employee by reason of the fact that earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness, and a willful violation carries criminal penalties (15 U.S.C. § 1674). Note the "any one indebtedness" wording. Federal law separately leaves in place state laws prohibiting discharge where earnings have been garnished for more than one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1677).

Does the garnishment stop after one paycheck?

Generally no. On garnishment of salaries or wages, the employer garnishee holds nonexempt wages due or becoming due to the extent of the judgment and costs, and the judgment or balance due is a lien on compensation due at the time of service (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-415). That lien continues as to subsequent earnings until the judgment and costs are paid or satisfied, terminating sooner if the employment relationship ends or the judgment is vacated or modified.

What happens after I file an exemption claim with the clerk?

Two procedures run on different clocks. After the writ is served on the garnishee, you may claim exemptions by filing an exemption claim with the clerk; within five days after that filing, you or your attorney must notify the judgment creditor or the creditor's attorney of the claim by fax transmission and concurrent mailing. A hearing is not required and a writ of supersedeas issues unless the creditor files a written statement contesting the claim within ten days from your filing (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402). The sixty-day wage claim has its own procedure (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208).

Does a bankruptcy case dismissed last year affect the automatic stay?

It can shorten it. If a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under chapter 7, 11 or 13, and one case of that debtor was pending within the preceding one-year period but was dismissed — other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after dismissal under section 707(b) — the stay terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later filing, as to any action taken with respect to a debt, property securing that debt, or a lease. A party in interest may move to extend it, which requires notice and a hearing completed before that 30-day period expires and a showing that the later filing is in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed (11 U.S.C. § 362).

What if two of my cases were dismissed in the past year?

Then the stay may not arise at all. If a case is filed by or against an individual and two or more of that debtor's cases were pending within the previous year but were dismissed — other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after dismissal under section 707(b) — the stay does not go into effect upon the filing of the later case. If a party in interest requests within 30 days after that filing, the court may order the stay to take effect as to any or all creditors, after notice and a hearing, only on a showing of good faith as to the creditors to be stayed; such a stay is effective on the date the order is entered (11 U.S.C. § 362).

If I file bankruptcy, do I use Arkansas or federal exemptions?

Arkansas has not opted out. A resident with the right to claim exemptions in a bankruptcy case may elect either the property exemptions provided by the Arkansas Constitution and Arkansas law, or those in 11 U.S.C. § 522(d), but not both (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-217). Which state's law applies turns on where your domicile was for the 730 days immediately preceding filing, or, if not a single state for that period, the place of domicile for the 180 days immediately preceding those 730 days, or for a longer portion of that 180-day period than any other place; if that rule leaves you ineligible for any exemption, you may elect the § 522(d) list (11 U.S.C. § 522). Federal exemptions outside § 522(d) and qualifying retirement funds are treated separately.

Wages & debt

Arkansas Wage Garnishment After a Judgment: Statutory Limits and What Bankruptcy Changes

In Arkansas, a judgment creditor's writ of garnishment is served on your employer with a "Notice to Defendant" describing your right to ask the court for a hearing to claim exemptions (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402). State law absolutely exempts the first $25.00 per week of a laborer's or mechanic's net wages (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208). Filing bankruptcy generally operates as a stay of enforcement of a prepetition judgment, subject to exceptions, including support withholding, prior-dismissal limits and court-ordered relief (11 U.S.C. § 362).

Key points

A plaintiff holding a judgment may sue out a writ of garnishment commanding an officer to summon your employer as garnishee (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-401).
The clerk attaches a "Notice to Defendant" listing possible exemptions, and the creditor must also mail you a copy (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402).
The first $25.00 per week of a laborer's or mechanic's net wages is absolutely exempt, with no schedule filed (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208).
The sixty-day wage claim is conditional: it needs a sworn statement and depends on the state constitutional limit (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208).
A bankruptcy petition generally operates as a stay of enforcing a prepetition judgment, subject to exceptions, including support withholding, prior dismissals and court-ordered relief (11 U.S.C. § 362).

This page covers ordinary wage garnishment in Arkansas after a creditor wins a money judgment: what the state statutes say, which wage protections apply, and what a bankruptcy filing can change. Child support withholding, taxes and federal administrative collection follow different rules.

How much of your pay can be garnished in Arkansas?

Two layers of law apply at once. Federal law caps ordinary garnishment at the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings for that workweek, or the amount by which those earnings exceed thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage in effect when the earnings are payable (15 U.S.C. § 1673). Disposable earnings are what remains after amounts required by law to be withheld (15 U.S.C. § 1672). Those restrictions do not apply to support orders, orders of a United States court with jurisdiction over chapter 13 cases, or debts due for any state or federal tax (15 U.S.C. § 1673).

Federal law also leaves in place state laws that prohibit garnishment or provide for more limited garnishment (15 U.S.C. § 1677). In Arkansas, the first $25.00 per week of the net wages of all laborers and mechanics is absolutely exempt from garnishment or other legal process, without filing a schedule of exemptions (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208). Net wages there means gross wages less the deductions actually withheld by the employer for Arkansas income tax, federal income tax, social security, group retirement, and group hospitalization and group life insurance premiums.

Who can claim the sixty-day wage exemption, and what does it require?

This claim is conditional, not automatic. The wages of laborers and mechanics, not exceeding sixty days' wages, are exempt from seizure by garnishment or other legal process if the defendant files with the court that issued the process a sworn statement that the sixty days' wages claimed are less than the amount exempt under the state constitution, and that he or she does not own sufficient other personal property which, together with those wages, would exceed the constitutional limits (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208).

The constitution it points to exempts specific articles of personal property a resident selects, in addition to wearing apparel, from seizure on attachment or sale on execution or other process on a debt by contract, up to a stated value that is lower for a resident who is not married or the head of a family; section 1 adds that no property is exempt from execution for debts contracted for its purchase money while in the hands of the buyer (Ark. Const. art. 9). Those totals cap the claim; they are not an extra wage allowance.

The creditor can contest it. On five days' written notice to the person claiming the exemption, it may have a hearing before the court or judge that issued the garnishment, and no supersedeas issues for five days after the claim is made. If the claim is sustained, those wages may not again be seized for sixty days; if it is invalid in whole or in part, proceedings are stayed only as to the amount the court determines (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208).

How does a creditor start a wage garnishment after a judgment?

A plaintiff holding a judgment who believes someone holds money belonging to you may sue out a writ of garnishment, summoning that person as garnishee to answer on the return day (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-401). The clerk attaches the "Notice to Defendant", and both are served and returned like a summons (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402).

The creditor or its attorney must mail the writ and the notice to you, and to your attorney if any, within five days from the date the writ is served on the garnishee. The copy for you goes by first-class mail to your last known residential address; if returned "undeliverable", or if that address is not discoverable after diligent search, they go to your place of employment, if known. No new notice is required for later garnishments on the same debt within twelve months of the first; after that, annual mailing is required. The creditor must also file a signed certificate of service with the returned writ, giving your name, last known address and the date the notice was sent (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402).

Who does what in an Arkansas wage garnishment
Actor	Role	Authority
Judgment creditor	Sues out the writ, files interrogatories, mails the notice	§ 16-110-401; § 16-110-403; § 16-110-402
Clerk of the court	Attaches the "Notice to Defendant" to the writ	§ 16-110-402
Employer (garnishee)	Answers under oath; holds nonexempt wages	§ 16-110-404; § 16-110-415
You (judgment debtor)	May file an exemption claim with the clerk	§ 16-110-402

What must your employer do once it is served?

Your employer is the garnishee. On the day the writ is sued out, the creditor files its allegations and interrogatories in writing (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-403), and the garnishee must file full, direct and true answers under oath on the return day named in the writ (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-404).

If a garnishee neglects or refuses to answer the interrogatories within thirty days after service of the writ, the court may, on the plaintiff's motion, issue a notice requiring it to appear at a hearing not later than ten days after receipt, or at a later date the court fixes. After hearing and reviewing both parties' evidence and testimony, the court may render judgment against the garnishee for what it held at the time of service that is not otherwise exempt under state or federal law (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-407).

The employer garnishee holds nonexempt wages due or becoming due, subject to the court's order (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-415). The creditor must include a notice that child support withholding has priority and that federal law caps the total withheld (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-416).

Which other income may be exempt from garnishment?

The "Notice to Defendant" is the list Arkansas puts in your hands, and it is written as examples of money that may be exempt, not as a guarantee covering every debt. It says that under the Arkansas Constitution and state law you will be able to claim as exempt all or part of your wages or other personal property, and gives Social Security, SSI, veterans' benefits, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, unemployment compensation and workers' compensation as federal examples. It also says you have a right to ask for a court hearing to claim these or other exemptions (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402).

The income withholding provisions of § 16-110-417 do not apply to unemployment compensation or workers' compensation benefits except to the extent the procedures named in that section allow (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-417). A writ of garnishment against the State of Arkansas or a subdivision may be sued out only after judgment, and refunds for overpayment of Arkansas state income tax are excepted from what is subject to garnishment in the state's hands (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-413).

What does filing bankruptcy change about an Arkansas garnishment?

State law decides how the garnishment works; federal law decides what a bankruptcy filing does to it. Filing a voluntary petition commences the case and constitutes an order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301). The petition operates as a stay, applicable to all entities, of the commencement or continuation of a proceeding against you that was or could have been commenced before the case, of enforcement against you or against property of the estate of a judgment obtained before the case, and of acts to collect a prepetition claim (11 U.S.C. § 362). The stay arises on filing, without a separate court order.

The stay has limits. It does not reach the withholding of income for a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute, among other listed exceptions; prior dismissed cases can shorten it or keep it from arising; and on request of a party in interest, after notice and a hearing, the court grants relief, such as by terminating, modifying or conditioning the stay, for cause (11 U.S.C. § 362). How long protection lasts differs for acts against property of the estate and for other acts, and turns on the chapter and how the case ends.

What should you ask a lawyer or legal aid about your garnishment?

Bring the writ, the "Notice to Defendant", recent pay stubs showing what was withheld, and the court name and case number from the judgment. The notice itself points you to your local bar association or a legal services program if you cannot afford a private lawyer (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402).

Does the automatic weekly net-wage exemption for laborers and mechanics fit my work and my pay?
Could the sixty-day sworn claim work for me, given the constitutional limit and the other personal property I own?
Has the five-day deadline to notify the creditor of an exemption claim already passed, and what follows if it has?
Is any of my income the kind the notice lists as possibly exempt, and how would I document that?
Would a chapter 7 or chapter 13 filing change this judgment, and do any prior dismissed cases affect the stay?
Would Arkansas exemptions or the federal § 522(d) list serve me better, and which may I elect?

Frequently asked questions

Can my employer fire me because of this garnishment?: Federal law says no employer may discharge an employee by reason of the fact that earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness, and a willful violation carries criminal penalties (15 U.S.C. § 1674). Note the "any one indebtedness" wording. Federal law separately leaves in place state laws prohibiting discharge where earnings have been garnished for more than one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1677).
Does the garnishment stop after one paycheck?: Generally no. On garnishment of salaries or wages, the employer garnishee holds nonexempt wages due or becoming due to the extent of the judgment and costs, and the judgment or balance due is a lien on compensation due at the time of service (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-415). That lien continues as to subsequent earnings until the judgment and costs are paid or satisfied, terminating sooner if the employment relationship ends or the judgment is vacated or modified.
What happens after I file an exemption claim with the clerk?: Two procedures run on different clocks. After the writ is served on the garnishee, you may claim exemptions by filing an exemption claim with the clerk; within five days after that filing, you or your attorney must notify the judgment creditor or the creditor's attorney of the claim by fax transmission and concurrent mailing. A hearing is not required and a writ of supersedeas issues unless the creditor files a written statement contesting the claim within ten days from your filing (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-402). The sixty-day wage claim has its own procedure (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-208).
Does a bankruptcy case dismissed last year affect the automatic stay?: It can shorten it. If a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under chapter 7, 11 or 13, and one case of that debtor was pending within the preceding one-year period but was dismissed — other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after dismissal under section 707(b) — the stay terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later filing, as to any action taken with respect to a debt, property securing that debt, or a lease. A party in interest may move to extend it, which requires notice and a hearing completed before that 30-day period expires and a showing that the later filing is in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed (11 U.S.C. § 362).
What if two of my cases were dismissed in the past year?: Then the stay may not arise at all. If a case is filed by or against an individual and two or more of that debtor's cases were pending within the previous year but were dismissed — other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after dismissal under section 707(b) — the stay does not go into effect upon the filing of the later case. If a party in interest requests within 30 days after that filing, the court may order the stay to take effect as to any or all creditors, after notice and a hearing, only on a showing of good faith as to the creditors to be stayed; such a stay is effective on the date the order is entered (11 U.S.C. § 362).
If I file bankruptcy, do I use Arkansas or federal exemptions?: Arkansas has not opted out. A resident with the right to claim exemptions in a bankruptcy case may elect either the property exemptions provided by the Arkansas Constitution and Arkansas law, or those in 11 U.S.C. § 522(d), but not both (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-217). Which state's law applies turns on where your domicile was for the 730 days immediately preceding filing, or, if not a single state for that period, the place of domicile for the 180 days immediately preceding those 730 days, or for a longer portion of that 180-day period than any other place; if that rule leaves you ineligible for any exemption, you may elect the § 522(d) list (11 U.S.C. § 522). Federal exemptions outside § 522(d) and qualifying retirement funds are treated separately.

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Sources verified October 21, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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