If North Carolina Senate Bill 632 becomes law, working families in North Carolina already struggling to pay their bills could see their wages garnished to pay private debts, and employers who refuse to cooperate with debt collectors could be fined and held in contempt of court.
North Carolina has generally frowned upon wage garnishment, reserving it only for a few special debts such as back taxes and child support. For decades, lawmakers have resisted proposals to allow wage garnishment by general creditors such as credit card companies, retailers and consumer lenders. Now however, with a new conservative General Assembly in power, some creditors think they see an opportunity to reverse this longstanding policy.
Last week Rep. Timothy Moore (R- 111th District, Shelby) introduced HB 30 – “Allow Wage Garnishment to Satisfy Judgments” – which was referred to House Judiciary Subcommittee A. This bill will cause great harm to many North Carolina families struggling to make ends meet, as well as to employers who will get caught in the middle of debt collection problems.
