According to a paper from the ADP Research Institutetitled U.S. Wage Garnishment Landscape: Through the Lensof the Employer, 7 percent of the worker population has agarnishment. If you’re a small employer you’re more likely to haveemployees whose wages are being garnished than if you were a largeemployer.

The problem of garnishment also is particularly prevalent amongcertain demographics of employees — but regardless of the companyand employees, wage garnishment is a major factor contributingto stress at work. Understanding whothese workers are and what factors are at play in their garnishmentcan help employers provide resources and support to alleviate theirstress.

Of the segment of the working population subject to wagegarnishment, 71 percent of garnishment actions involve men, 92percent of which involve child support. The typical garnishedworker is a middle-aged, male worker with children and income under$60,000.

Employees between the ages of 35–54 — GenXers — incurred themost garnishments. Workers in the narrower age band of 35–44 werethe targets of the most garnishment actions, accounting for 10.2percent of all collection activity. These workers also have thehighest average number of garnishments (1.45) and correspondingrate of garnishment due to child support (1.27 percent) and othergarnishment, including student, consumer, and credit card debt(1.33 percent).

Who are their debtors? Child support accounts for 3.4percent of all garnishment actions, while student loan debt accounted for 2.9 percent,tax levies 1.5 percent, and bankruptcy 0.4 percent.

Approximately 12 percent of those with a garnishment actuallyhave more than one, with the Midwest having employees with thehighest average number of garnishments, at 1.49. In addition, thegoods-producing sector has higher garnishment rates, a higheraverage number of garnishments and greater average income pergarnished employees across all states.

Only 29 percent of women have garnishments, and they also carrya lower average number of garnishments, at 1.37. And while men areon the hook mostly for child support, women end up being garnishedover student loans and consumer debt.

Smaller firms garnish wages at a higher rate, the study finds,with 13 percent of small firms garnishing wages in comparison to8.7 percent of large firms. Midsized firms of 50–999 employees)garnish at a similar rate to large firms.

And woe betide them if they don’t garnish an employee’s wages;the failure to withhold or remit wages can get an employer acontempt of court order, fines, penalties and attorney’s fees andcosts. In some jurisdictions, employers that do not withhold aworker's wages can find themselves liable for the entire amountthat their employee owes.