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

How much of your pay can be garnished in Maine?

Maine applies two formulas. For an installment payment order, the maximum earnings for any workweek subject to the order is the least of three amounts: 25% of the sum of disposable earnings and exempt income for that week; the amount by which that sum exceeds 40 times the federal or state minimum hourly wage, whichever is higher at the time the earnings are payable; and the total amount of disposable earnings (14 M.R.S. § 3126-A). For a consumer credit transaction judgment, the ceiling is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 40 times the higher of those two minimum wages in effect when the earnings are payable; for a pay period other than a week, the administrator prescribes an equivalent multiple by rule (9-A M.R.S. § 5-105(2)). Those three limits, set out in subsection 3, do not reach support orders, an order of a United States court with jurisdiction over chapter 13 cases, or a debt due for state or federal tax (14 M.R.S. § 3126-A).

How do the federal wage-garnishment limits fit with Maine's?

Maine's limits sit alongside federal restrictions that cap garnishment at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for a workweek or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (15 U.S.C. § 1673). Federal law defines garnishment broadly, as any legal or equitable procedure through which earnings are withheld for payment of a debt (15 U.S.C. § 1672). Those federal restrictions do not apply to a support order from a court of competent jurisdiction or a qualifying administrative procedure, to an order of a United States court with jurisdiction over chapter 13 cases, or to a debt due for any state or federal tax (15 U.S.C. § 1673). Federal law also leaves state law in place where a state prohibits garnishment or provides for more limited garnishment than federal law allows (15 U.S.C. § 1677).

What do these Maine statutes say about creditors and courts?

A creditor may not obtain an interest in a consumer's property by attachment, garnishment or like proceedings before judgment is entered in an action for a debt arising from a consumer credit transaction (9-A M.R.S. § 5-104), and no court may make, execute or enforce an order or process in violation of the consumer-credit garnishment limits (9-A M.R.S. § 5-105(3)). After a disclosure hearing, the court determines the amount, if any, of the installment payments the judgment debtor must make, taking into account factors such as the debtor's reasonable requirements and other judgment orders or wage assignments (14 M.R.S. § 3126-A). Payroll withholding is a further step, not an automatic consequence of every judgment: on an ex parte motion and affidavit showing either two or more missed installment payments or a failure to appear after a subpoena, the court may approve service of an order to withhold and answer on the employer or other payor of earnings (14 M.R.S. § 3127-B).

Does Maine law prohibit wage garnishment for medical debt?

Three enacted sections address medical debt, reaching different actors. One bars a court from making, executing or enforcing an order or process under the consumer-credit garnishment section based on medical debt (P.L. 2025, ch. 649, §1). Another provides that garnishment of a consumer's salary or wages may not be issued for a judgment in an action in which the claim against the consumer is based on medical debt (P.L. 2025, ch. 649, §3). A third bars a debt collector from initiating an action to garnish a consumer's salary or wages on such a claim (P.L. 2025, ch. 649, §8). Each turns on the statutory definition of medical debt, which sits in Title 32 rather than in these sections. Not every healthcare-related bill necessarily falls inside that definition, so ask a lawyer to check.

Which income is protected from garnishment under Maine law?

Maine's installment-payment statute defines exempt income as the debtor's right to receive social security, unemployment compensation or local public assistance benefits; a veteran's benefit; a disability, illness or unemployment benefit; alimony, support or separate maintenance reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependents; and a payment or account under a stock bonus, pension, profit sharing, annuity, individual retirement account or similar plan to the extent described in section 4422, subsection 13, paragraph E (14 M.R.S. § 3126-A). That cross-reference is qualified, not a blanket retirement exemption. The court may not order installment payments at all where the judgment debtor is receiving or will receive money or earnings only from exempt sources. Exempt income is not disregarded, though: it is added to disposable earnings in the first two limbs of the maximum, while the third caps the order at the total amount of disposable earnings.

• Earnings include wages, salary, commissions, bonuses and periodic payments under a pension or retirement program (14 M.R.S. § 3121).
• Disposable earnings are what remains after amounts required by law to be withheld (14 M.R.S. § 3121; 9-A M.R.S. § 5-105(1)).

Which statutory protections may matter when contesting a Maine garnishment?

Within 20 days of service of the employer's answer, the judgment debtor or the judgment creditor may move for a hearing on what amount, if any, of the debtor's earnings should be ordered payable, and must serve that motion on the employer or other payor and on the other party (14 M.R.S. § 3127-B). The court may then order withholding within the limits of 14 M.R.S. § 3126-A, terminate it if it finds no disposable earnings payable, and order appropriate reimbursement by the employer or the creditor if it terminates or reduces withholding. No reimbursement or retroactive withholding is permitted against the employee if the court order increases the amount withheld. Those time limits may be enlarged under the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 6. Separately, on its own motion or a party's, and upon notice and hearing, the court may at any time suspend, revise or revoke an order under the chapter on a showing that a party's circumstances so require (14 M.R.S. § 3129).

How does filing bankruptcy affect a Maine garnishment?

A voluntary case begins with the filing of a petition with the bankruptcy court, which itself constitutes an order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301). The filing alone operates as a stay of the commencement or continuation of an action against the debtor that was or could have been commenced before the case, of enforcement against the debtor or property of the estate of a prepetition judgment, and of any act to collect a prepetition claim (11 U.S.C. § 362). The stay is not unlimited. Withholding of income that is property of the estate or of the debtor for a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute is not stayed; prior dismissals within the past year can shorten or prevent the stay; and on request of a party in interest, after notice and a hearing, the court grants relief for cause.

What should you ask a lawyer about a Maine garnishment?

These statutes set limits; they do not say what a court would do with your facts. Bring the judgment, any installment order, any order to withhold and answer, and the employer's answer. Dates matter, because the window to move for a hearing runs from service of the employer's answer, not from the day your pay changed (14 M.R.S. § 3127-B). If the claim is a medical bill, ask how the enacted sections and their definition apply (P.L. 2025, ch. 649, §3). If bankruptcy is on the table, ask what prior dismissals would mean for the stay (11 U.S.C. § 362).

• Which statutory ceiling applies to this judgment, and how was the withheld amount calculated?
• Has the deadline to move for a hearing on the employer's answer run, and can it be enlarged?
• Is the underlying claim one the enacted medical-debt sections reach?
• Would prior dismissed bankruptcy cases shorten or prevent the stay in my circumstances?

Frequently asked questions

What must an employer do when it is served with an order to withhold and answer?

Within 20 days of service, the employer or other payor must file its answer with the court, serve copies on both parties, and withhold from the employee and pay to the judgment creditor the lesser of the previously ordered installment or the maximum disposable earnings that may be applied to the debt, until the court orders otherwise or the debt is satisfied (14 M.R.S. § 3127-B). Failing to answer on time after due service is a default carrying separate liability; those time limits may be enlarged under the civil rules.

How long does the automatic stay last, and can a creditor get around it?

The stay's duration is subject to statutory exceptions, repeat-filing limits and court-granted relief. The stay of an act against estate property lasts while it remains in the estate; the stay of any other act continues until the earliest of case closing, dismissal, or a discharge granted or denied in an individual chapter 7 or a chapter 9, 11, 12 or 13 case. On request of a party in interest, after notice and a hearing, the court grants relief for cause, including lack of adequate protection (11 U.S.C. § 362).

I had one bankruptcy case dismissed in the past year. What happens to the stay?

Where a later single or joint case is filed by or against an individual debtor under chapter 7, 11 or 13, and a single or joint case of the debtor was pending within the preceding one-year period but was dismissed, the stay terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later case is filed, as to any action taken with respect to a debt, property securing that debt, or any lease. That does not reach a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a chapter 7 dismissal for abuse. On a party in interest's motion, the court may extend the stay as to any or all creditors after notice and a hearing completed before the 30-day period expires, and only on 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 or more of my cases were dismissed in the previous year?

Where a later single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under title 11 and two or more single or joint cases of the debtor were pending within the previous year but were dismissed, no stay goes into effect upon the filing of the later case. That again does not reach a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a chapter 7 dismissal for abuse. If a party in interest requests within 30 days after the later filing, the court may order the stay to take effect as to any or all creditors, after notice and a hearing and only on a showing of good faith as to the creditors to be stayed; it is effective on entry of the order allowing it (11 U.S.C. § 362).

Can my employer fire me because my wages are being garnished?

Maine law bars an employer from discharging an employee because a creditor has subjected or attempted to subject unpaid earnings to garnishment to pay a judgment arising from a consumer credit transaction (9-A M.R.S. § 5-106), and separately bars discharge because earnings are subject to a withholding order (14 M.R.S. § 3127-B). Federal law bars discharge by reason of garnishment for any one indebtedness, with penalties for a willful violation (15 U.S.C. § 1674). These sections address firing, not the amount withheld.

Can a Maine filer use the federal bankruptcy exemptions?

Which state's exemption law applies turns on where your domicile was for the 730 days immediately preceding the filing, not where you live now; if your domicile was not in a single State for that period, it is where it was for the 180 days immediately preceding those 730 days, or for a longer portion of those 180 days than in any other place (11 U.S.C. § 522). Where Maine law governs under those rules, Maine has opted out of the federal exemption list in subsection (d) (14 M.R.S. § 4426). Subsection (b) still allows property exempt under other federal law, certain qualifying tenancy interests, and retirement funds in a fund or account exempt from taxation, and if the domiciliary requirement would leave a debtor ineligible for any exemption, the debtor may elect the federal list.

Sources

• 9-A M.R.S. § 5-104
• 9-A M.R.S. § 5-105(1)
• 9-A M.R.S. § 5-105(2)
• 9-A M.R.S. § 5-105(3)
• 9-A M.R.S. § 5-106
• 14 M.R.S. § 3121
• 14 M.R.S. § 3126-A
• 14 M.R.S. § 3127-B
• 14 M.R.S. § 3129
• 14 M.R.S. § 4426
• P.L. 2025, ch. 649, §1
• P.L. 2025, ch. 649, §3
• P.L. 2025, ch. 649, §8
• 11 U.S.C. § 301
• 11 U.S.C. § 362 · official source
• 11 U.S.C. § 522 · official source
• 15 U.S.C. § 1672
• 15 U.S.C. § 1673
• 15 U.S.C. § 1674
• 15 U.S.C. § 1677

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