Establishing and Enforcing Child Support Orders — Page 4 of 8

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Wage Assignment

All court orders for support entered beginning July 1, 1990, include a provision for an immediate wage assignment. A court ordered wage assignment is sent to the employer of the NP or to the Social Security Administration if the NP receives attachable benefits. The employer is instructed to withhold the current support and an amount payable towards any arrears, and to forward the money to the DCSS for disbursement. An employer must honor a wage assignment so long as the NP remains employed. In addition, it is illegal for an employer to terminate the NP because of the wage assignment order. By law, the employer generally may not deduct more than 50 percent of the NP's net disposable earnings for child support. Net disposable earnings are the earnings left after subtracting mandatory deductions. Generally these deductions are federal income tax, social security, state income tax, state disability insurance, and payments to public employees' retirement systems.

In addition to stating the monthly sum to be withheld from the NP's earnings, the order also contains general instructions for the employer to follow in calculating the amount to be withheld and for sending the money to the payee. The payee is the person or entity to whom the employer makes the check payable. Any wage assignment obtained by Sonoma County's DCSS has the DCSS as the payee.

As a means of collecting support, a wage assignment is effective against a person who receives money from earnings, rents, workers' compensation temporary disability, social security benefits, etc., on a regular basis.

• A wage assignment is effective immediately, but no later than ten (10) days after service of the order on the employer.
• The employer must forward all money within seven (7) days from the date it is withheld.
• Payments are generally prorated over the NP's pay periods. This often results in uneven amounts being withheld from earnings and forwarded to the DCSS.
• If the NP leaves his or her employment, the employer must notify the DCSS.
• The wage assignment is binding on existing as well as future employers.

Since 1998, as a result of a change in the law, the DCSS may issue a Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support without a judge's signature. This document directs the NP's employer to withhold money from his or her paycheck for support payments. The NP can request a court review of the amounts if he or she disagrees with the notice.

Intercept Programs

The DCSS is linked to a number of automatic intercept programs including unemployment benefits, state disability, the state lottery and the Income Tax Refund Intercept Program for both state and federal tax refunds.

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