http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/business/economy/02garnish.html?pagewanted=1&hp
Good article about a disastrous situation for working poor people who are alleged to owe a debt. Here’s an excerpt:
For the working poor, losing a lawsuit can mean disaster. Federal law permits creditors to seize as much as a quarter of a worker’s paycheck, though the cutoff is lower for the lowest-paid workers, and a few states also offer greater protection.
The working poor “have difficulties maintaining payments on life’s necessities with their full paycheck,” said Angela Riccetti, a lawyer with Atlanta Legal Aid who represents indigent clients whose wages are being garnished. “You lose 25 percent of it and everything folds.”