SECTIONS 706.151-706.154 - California Statutes

CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

SECTION 706.151-706.154

706.151. The Judicial Council may perform all acts required by the
Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the United States
Department of Labor as conditions to exemption of this state from the
earnings garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection
Act of 1968 (15 U.S.C. Secs. 1671-1677), including, but not limited
to:
(a) Representing and acting on behalf of the state in relation to
the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division and the administrator'
s representatives with regard to any matter relating to, or arising
out of, the application, interpretation, and enforcement of the laws
of this state regulating withholding of earnings.
(b) Submitting to the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division
in duplicate and on a current basis, a certified copy of every
statute of this state affecting earnings withholding, and a certified
copy of any decision in any case involving any of those statutes,
made by the Supreme Court of this state.
(c) Submitting to the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division
any information relating to the enforcement of earnings withholding
laws of this state which the administrator may request.

706.152. If an employer withholds earnings pursuant to this chapter
and, with the intent to defraud either the judgment creditor or the
judgment debtor, fails to pay such withheld earnings over to the
levying officer, the employer is guilty of a misdemeanor.

706.153. (a) No employer shall defer or accelerate any payment of
earnings to an employee with the intent to defeat or diminish the
judgment creditor's rights under an earnings withholding order issued
pursuant to the procedures provided by this chapter.
(b) If an employer violates this section, the judgment creditor
may bring a civil action against the employer to recover the amount
that would have been withheld and paid over pursuant to this chapter
had the employer not violated this section. The remedy provided by
this subdivision is not exclusive.

706.154. (a) If an employer fails to withhold or to pay over the
amount the employer is required to withhold and pay over pursuant to
this chapter, the judgment creditor may bring a civil action against
the employer to recover such amount. The remedy provided by this
subdivision is not exclusive.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), an employer who complies with
any written order or written notice which purports to be given or
served in accordance with the provisions of this chapter is not
subject to any civil or criminal liability for such compliance unless
the employer has actively participated in a fraud.