Wage Garnishment in Louisiana: What the Law Says and What Bankruptcy Changes

How much of your pay can be garnished in Louisiana?

Louisiana writes its limit as an exemption, not as a deduction. Seventy-five percent of disposable earnings for any week is exempt from seizure, and that exemption can never be less than an amount in disposable earnings equal to thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable, or a multiple or fraction of it according to whether the pay period is greater or less than one week (La. R.S. 13:3881).

That describes a protected share. It is not authority for an automatic fixed deduction from every paycheck, and it does not convert into a set dollar floor here.

A separate federal ceiling caps ordinary garnishment at twenty-five percent of disposable earnings for a workweek, or the amount by which they exceed thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage, whichever is less — with exceptions for support orders, orders of a United States court having jurisdiction over chapter 13 cases, and debts due for any State or Federal tax (15 U.S.C. § 1673).

What do Louisiana statutes require of creditors and courts?

A judgment creditor begins by petition after a writ of fieri facias issues, citing a third person — usually your employer — as garnishee to declare under oath what property of the debtor it holds, and to answer the annexed interrogatories, which must ask whether the debtor is employed there, the rate and manner of pay, and whether other garnishments affect it (La. C.C.P. art. 2411; La. R.S. 13:3924). The seizure takes effect upon service of the petition, citation, interrogatories and a notice of seizure, and the garnishee then files sworn answers within thirty days of service (La. C.C.P. art. 2412).

The creditor must also send the debtor written notice of the filing by mail or electronic means, though that notice has no effect on the validity of the seizure (La. C.C.P. art. 2412). In a wage case the court must render a judgment fixing the exempt portion of pay, as provided by law, and directing payment through the sheriff, marshal or constable (La. R.S. 13:3921).

Which income is protected from garnishment under Louisiana law?

Louisiana lists the income and property exempt from seizure under any writ, mandate, or process whatsoever, except as otherwise provided in that section (La. R.S. 13:3881). Exempt items include the tools, instruments, books and one utility trailer necessary to the trade, calling, or profession by which you earn your livelihood.

The federal earned income tax credit and the refundable portion of the child tax credit are exempt, except for seizure by the Department of Revenue or arrears in child support payments.

Pensions, tax-deferred arrangements, annuity contracts and health savings accounts are exempt from all liability for any debt except alimony and child support, and except as provided in R.S. 11:292, which that section preserves as an exception. A health savings account is exempt only while its total value stays within the annual family-coverage deduction limit the Internal Revenue Service sets for the current calendar year. A contribution to a tax-deferred arrangement or annuity contract is not exempt if made less than one calendar year before a bankruptcy filing or before writs of seizure are filed against it, though a transfer between two such arrangements or contracts is not treated as a contribution.

Wages earned out of this state and payable out of this state are exempt from attachment or garnishment in all cases where the cause of action arose out of this state, and the garnishee must plead the exemption unless the defendant is actually served with process (La. R.S. 13:3951).

Which statutory protections may matter when contesting a Louisiana garnishment?

In a wage garnishment, the court renders a judgment fixing the exempt portion of pay (La. R.S. 13:3921). A judgment may be rendered with or without a hearing if all competent evidence is presented to determine your earnings or other assets, or both, and the court is satisfied that a judgment, writ of garnishment, or sale, transfer, or assignment of earnings remains unsatisfied (La. R.S. 13:3922).

All effects of the seizure by garnishment cease when your employment with the garnishee terminates, unless you are reinstated or reemployed within 180 days after the termination (La. R.S. 13:3923). That section also leaves judgments rendered under La. C.C.P. art. 2413 unaffected, so cessation does not by itself erase a garnishee's personal liability under such a judgment.

Separately, if no opposition is filed, the garnishee answers affirmatively as to employment, and no garnishment judgment is obtained within 180 days of the filing of those answers, the seizure's effects cease on the lapse of the 180th day and the garnishee must be re-served (La. C.C.P. art. 2411).

The court may also, in its discretion, reopen the case on the motion of any party concerned, and retains jurisdiction to amend or set aside its garnishment judgment.

How does filing bankruptcy affect a Louisiana garnishment?

A voluntary case is commenced by filing a petition with the bankruptcy court, and that filing constitutes an order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301). The petition operates as a stay, applicable to all entities, of actions against the debtor that were or could have been commenced before the case, of enforcement of a prepetition judgment against the debtor or against property of the estate, and of acts to collect a prepetition claim (11 U.S.C. § 362). No separate order creates that stay, though notices to an employer or the state court often matter in practice.

The stay of an act against property of the estate continues until the property is no longer property of the estate; the stay of any other act continues until the earliest of case closing, dismissal, or — in a chapter 7 case concerning an individual, or a chapter 9, 11, 12 or 13 case — the grant or denial of a discharge (11 U.S.C. § 362). Exceptions, repeat-filing limits and court-ordered relief can change that.

Which exemptions apply if you file bankruptcy in Louisiana?

In a case under title 11, only property and income exempt under Louisiana law and under federal laws other than section 522(d) of the Bankruptcy Code is exempt from the estate (La. R.S. 13:3881(B)(1)). That opt-out is not a blanket exclusion of federal exemptions: non-bankruptcy federal exemptions remain available alongside the Louisiana list, and retirement funds in accounts exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code sections named in the statute are a separate category (11 U.S.C. § 522).

Which list applies depends on domicile: the law of the place where the debtor's domicile was located for the 730 days immediately preceding the filing; or, if domicile was not in a single State for that period, the place where domicile was located for the 180 days immediately preceding those 730 days, or for a longer portion of that 180-day period than in any other place. If that requirement would leave the debtor ineligible for any exemption, the debtor may elect the exemptions specified in subsection (d) (11 U.S.C. § 522).

What should you ask a lawyer about a Louisiana garnishment?

These statutes set the framework; they do not tell you what to file in your parish, or when. Take the papers you were served to a Louisiana consumer lawyer or a legal aid office, and ask concrete questions: how my disposable earnings figure is calculated under La. R.S. 13:3881, and which of my deductions count toward it; whether the garnishment judgment fixes the exempt portion as provided by law, and what the route is to challenge it; whether the garnishee has answered, and whether the termination-of-employment or 180-day rules have already ended the seizure's effects; whether my wages are earned and payable outside Louisiana and the cause of action arose outside this state; whether a prior judgment, garnishment, support order or employer debt affects priority; and whether a chapter 7 or chapter 13 case would change the underlying debt, including what the automatic stay and Louisiana's exemption rules would mean for me.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as "disposable earnings" under Louisiana law?

Louisiana defines disposable earnings as the part of earnings remaining after deducting amounts required by law to be withheld, and amounts that are reasonable and are being deducted in the usual course of business at the time the garnishment is served on the employer to provide retirement, medical insurance and life insurance benefits, and amounts legally due or owed to the employer in the usual course of business at the time the garnishment is served (La. R.S. 13:3881). That statutory calculation is not necessarily your take-home pay, and federal law has its own definition (15 U.S.C. § 1672).

How much is exempt when the garnishment is for child or spousal support?

The exempt share differs: the exemption from disposable earnings for payment of a current or past due support obligation, or both, for a child or children is fifty percent, and for a spouse or former spouse it is sixty percent (La. R.S. 13:3881). If the Department of Children and Family Services is providing support enforcement services to the spouse and the order covers both a child and a spouse or former spouse, or in any case where the order does not clearly indicate which amount is attributable to which, the obligation is treated as exclusively for child support.

Does filing bankruptcy stop every garnishment in Louisiana?

No. Filing generally operates as a stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362, which commonly halts ordinary wage garnishment, but the statute carves out exceptions — including withholding of income that is property of the estate or of the debtor for payment of a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute. A creditor may also request relief, and the court may terminate, annul, modify or condition the stay after notice and a hearing. Repeat filings can limit the stay or keep it from arising.

What if one earlier bankruptcy case was dismissed in the past year?

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

What if two or more earlier cases were dismissed in the past year?

Where two or more of the 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 a dismissal under section 707(b) — the stay does not go into effect when a later case is filed by or against that individual, and on request the court promptly confirms that no stay is in effect. If a party in interest requests within 30 days of that filing, the court may order a stay imposed 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; that stay is effective on the date the order is entered (11 U.S.C. § 362).

Can a Louisiana employer fire you because of a garnishment?

No person shall be discharged from employment nor denied employment because of a voluntary assignment or a single garnishment of earnings; a person so discharged has a right to reinstatement and back pay, but not to damages, and a person denied employment solely for that reason has a right to reasonable damages (La. R.S. 23:731). A person may, however, be discharged if earnings are subjected to three or more garnishments for unrelated debts in a two year period, excluding any garnishment resulting from an accident or illness causing ten or more consecutive days missed at work. Federal law separately bars discharge for garnishment for any one indebtedness (15 U.S.C. § 1674) and does not annul stricter state rules (15 U.S.C. § 1677).

Sources

• La. R.S. 13:3881 — General exemptions from seizure
• La. R.S. 13:3881(B)(1) — Exemptions in cases under title 11
• La. R.S. 13:3921 — Judgment fixing portion subject to seizure
• La. R.S. 13:3922 — Hearing; evidence; prior acts
• La. R.S. 13:3923 — One writ sufficient; cessation of seizure upon termination of employment
• La. R.S. 13:3924 — Interrogatories
• La. R.S. 13:3951 — Exemption of wages earned out of state
• La. R.S. 23:731 — Assignment of earnings
• La. C.C.P. art. 2411 — Garnishee; effect of service
• La. C.C.P. art. 2412 — Method of service; delay for answering
• 11 U.S.C. § 301 — Voluntary cases
• 11 U.S.C. § 362 — Automatic stay · official source
• 11 U.S.C. § 522 — Exemptions · official source
• 15 U.S.C. § 1672 — Definitions
• 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — Restriction on garnishment
• 15 U.S.C. § 1674 — Restriction on discharge from employment by reason of garnishment
• 15 U.S.C. § 1677 — Effect on State laws
• La. C.C.P. art. 2413 — La. C.C.P. art. 2413 — Effect of garnishee's failure to answer

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