Section 15: Wage Executions

Definition

A wage execution is a court order that allows a judgment creditor, through a levying officer (a state marshal or constable), to collect on a money judgment directly from the debtor’s wages.  Generally, when a judgment debtor fails to pay off a judgment, a judgment creditor can apply to the clerk of the court to issue a wage execution.  Under this type of execution, the state marshal serves the debtor’s employer who then must deduct a set amount from the debtor’s non-exempt wages to pay off the judgment.

Service

The service of a wage execution is done as in a civil action.  The state marshal may make service by certified mail, return receipt requested, to an address within the state marshal’s county.  If an employer has requested service by facsimile, the marshal should also serve the execution by certified mail, return receipt requested, in compliance with the statute.  In addition, where an employer has specially designated an out-of-county or out-of-state office (e.g. a payroll office/or executive headquarters) to receive service of wage executions, the state marshal can make service by certified mail, return receipt requested, on the designated out-of-county or out-of-state office.  See General Statutes § 52-361a (d) (as amended by Public Act 16-64).  Finally, where the state marshal commenced the underlying civil action in his or her county, he or she may serve a post-judgment wage execution out of his or her county.  See Out-of-County State Marshal Work subsection of the Civil Process section of this manual. 

A state marshal must serve a wage execution within one year from its issuance and the execution must be returned within thirty days from the satisfaction of the judgment.  The marshal must serve a properly endorsed copy of the wage execution and supply the employer with a modification and exemption claim form.  Note that the marshal is required to fill in the date of service on the modification and exemption claim form (JD-CV-3a).  The marshal must provide the employer with a cover sheet containing basic information including the judgment amount, post-judgment interest (if ordered and noted on the execution), and the state marshal statutory fee—currently 15% of the total amount of the execution—on a cover sheet.  The marshal should also provide the employer with written instructions that payments are to be made directly to the state marshal and not to the creditor or his or her attorney.  In general, the marshal may serve any duly authorized person at the employer.  The marshal may not add post-judgment interest to the execution amount unless it was specifically ordered by the court and the box on the court form is checked.  Neither the marshal nor the creditor may check the box for interest.  It is good professional practice for the marshal to check with the payroll division in large employers to determine who is authorized to process wage executions, so that the marshal may direct the service most effectively. 

It is important that the marshal serve the wage execution as soon as possible after receipt, as wage deductions are made based on priority.  While priority is generally set by the order in which the wage executions are served on the employer, family support wage executions and internal revenue service tax executions get first priority under statute.  Deductions are based on the debtor’s disposable income.  Generally, an employer may only deduct funds from the debtor’s wages under one wage execution at a time.  Any other executions served on the employer will be satisfied in turn.  It is good professional practice for the serving marshal to check with an employer periodically if he or she is waiting for an execution to reach the top of the priority list.

General Statutes § 6-32 requires the marshal to provide timely service and returns thereof.  The marshal must prepare a return and send the return and the signed original back to the judgment creditor when appropriate.  Usually, this is when the judgment is satisfied in full.  However, if an employee leaves his or her job, or the employer stops forwarding funds, and the judgment is wholly unsatisfied, or partially satisfied, the marshal must send the appropriate return so the judgment creditor can pursue remedies. Note that the failure to serve and/or to provide a timely return subjects the marshal to double damages liability.  General Statutes § 6-32.

Manner

A judgment creditor must obtain a money judgment and an order of weekly payments against a debtor.  Before a creditor may obtain an execution, the debtor must fail to abide by this order.  The judgment creditor or his or her lawyer will calculate the total amount of the judgment, which will include costs and post-judgment interest (if ordered).  Interest is set by statute.  For many civil matters the current interest rate is 10% annually.  However, as noted above, a marshal may not collect post-judgment interest unless ordered by the court and the correct box is checked by the court on the execution form.

Note that the judgment creditor may seek information about the debtor’s assets by following various procedures, including serving the debtor or a third party with post-judgment interrogatories (written questions).  If the debtor fails to properly respond to the interrogatories, or has an execution against him or her returned as unsatisfied in whole or in part, the judgment creditor can file an application with the court for an examination of the judgment debtor, under oath, at a time and place set by the clerk.  Also note that the method of and timeframe for service of the petition for the examination of judgment debtor and hearing notice is as in civil process.  Often a subpoena is also issued to summon the judgment debtor to the hearing.

If a judgment debtor defaults on the court-ordered payments, the court clerk, upon application by the judgment creditor, will issue a wage execution directed to a levying officer (state marshal or constable) to serve on the debtor’s employer.  The employer calculates the amount of money to be deducted weekly from the debtor employee’s disposable income based on statutory criteria.  The total sum to be paid by the debtor employee over the course of the wage execution is provided by the state marshal to the employer through a cover/direction sheet which reflects the judgment sum, post-judgment interest ordered by the court, and the state marshal fee.

In addition to the cover sheet and the wage execution application form, the marshal must serve the employer with an exemption and modification claim form.  Note that the state marshal must fill in the date of service on the exemption and modification claim form and provide it to the employer.  As noted above, the marshal should inform the employer on the cover sheet to make payments directly to the state marshal, and not to the judgment creditor or his or her attorney.  The employer will then fill in some information and send the wage execution and exemption and modification form to the debtor employee.  

Stays and Exemptions  

The wage execution is not effective until after 20 days from the date the employer is served (the 21^st day).  The wage execution is not immediately enforceable so that the debtor employee has the opportunity to make claims in court, including a claim regarding exempt property.  Wages cannot be withheld or sent to a state marshal during this time, or during subsequent court proceedings, until any claims are resolved by the court.  If no claim is filed, the employer is required to make deductions and forward the sums to the state marshal.  Note that subsequent motions on exempt property and modification requests will act to stay a wage execution even after deductions have started.

Certain property of a judgment debtor is exempt from execution.  The most common exemptions for debtors who are natural persons are set forth in General Statutes § 52-352b.  It is important for state marshals to be aware of the exempt property rules.  Under the law, state marshals may face liability if they collect exempt property under an execution.  If a state marshal has doubts about whether certain property is exempt, the state marshal can certify the question of the exemption to the court who will then hold a hearing and issue a determination on the matter.

Fees

The state marshal is entitled to 15% of the total execution amount as a fee.  Note that a marshal may not collect administrative fees in addition to the 15% statutory fee.  If the marshal collects money under an execution, but it is so nominal that it will not provide for a $30 fee, the marshal may seek a one-time $30 minimum fee under statute.

The execution amount is calculated by adding the judgment amount (less any amount paid by the debtor prior to the execution), the application fee or fees, post-judgment costs and fees associated with the wage execution, and post-judgment interest (if ordered by the court).  The state marshal’s fee is 15% of that sum.  The total demand on the employer will include the execution amount plus the marshal fee.

The employer will deduct weekly sums from the debtor’s wages until the total demand amount has been paid to the marshal.  As noted above, the marshal fee is calculated by taking 15% of the total execution amount.  Note that the marshal is not entitled to 15% of the amount forwarded by the employer each week, as that amount already includes the marshal’s fee and the marshal may not earn a 15% fee on his 15% fee.  Accordingly, the marshal should calculate his or her total fee owed on the execution, and divide by the number of weekly payments to arrive at his or her appropriate weekly fee.  For example, if the total execution amount is $1,000, then the total marshal fee under the execution will be $150 and the total demand on the employer will be $1,150.  If the weekly deductions from the employer to the marshal total $115, then the employer must deduct this amount for 10 weeks to fully satisfy the execution amount.  The appropriate state marshal fee would be $150 divided by 10 weeks or $15 per paycheck. 

Note that the state marshal fee may not be collected in a lump sum.  The fee is payable only on a proportional basis as the money is actually collected and distributed.  Since the fee is taken periodically over the course of the wage execution, if another state marshal completes collection under a wage execution, that marshal is entitled to the proportionate fees derived from the funds he or she collected. A state marshal cannot knowingly bill, or receive fees, for work the marshal did not actually perform.  Once a state marshal collects funds from the employer, the marshal is required to distribute funds to the judgment creditor no later than 30 calendar days from the date of the collection, or upon the collection of $1,000, whichever is earlier.  The statute does permit the state marshal and the judgment creditor to enter an agreement for a different distribution schedule.  The best professional practice in these circumstances is for the creditor and marshal to enter a written agreement to protect the marshal from claims of withholding funds.

Accounting Procedures and Recordkeeping

A state marshal is required to abide by specific professional standards when collecting, safe-guarding, and distributing client funds.  Money collected under wage executions must be kept in a Trustee/Client Fund Account and handled in accordance with State Marshal Commission Regulations § 6-38b-6 and the Commission Audit Policy.  See the Audit Policy in the Recordkeeping section of this manual.  Under General Statutes § 6-38e, the State Marshal Commission is authorized to periodically review and audit the records and accounts of state marshals.  Marshals must also submit account reconciliations to the Commission pursuant to the Audit Policy.

Former State Marshals

Once a state marshal is removed from his or her appointment (due to revocation or retirement), he or she is no longer considered a proper levying officer.  Accordingly, if a marshal is collecting under a wage execution and is later removed from his or her appointment, he or she may not continue to collect under that execution and must turn the collection over to another state marshal.  See Opinion of the Attorney General, December 6, 2001. 

Major Statutes

There are many statutes/regulations that touch on wage executions. The state marshal should always check with his or her client, attorney (if applicable), and the statutes if he or she has any questions about a particular execution.

These statutes are available in the Statutes section of the Connecticut General Assembly website. 

The following reference list is not exhaustive and sets forth only the most important and commonly used statutes covering wage bank executions:

52-361a           Primary statute for wage executions.

52-361b           Claims for exemption or modification.

52-261 (a) (6)  State marshal fees under an execution (15% on the amount of the execution; $30                                       minimum fee).

52-356d           Installment payment orders.

6-35                 Distribution of collected sums.

6-32                 State marshal duty to serve and make prompt and true return; liability.

52-352a &       Exempt property list.
52-352b

52-351b           Discovery by judgment creditor (interrogatories).

52-397             Examination of judgment debtor.  See General Statutes §§ 52-46 and 52-46a for service.

52-350e           Service of process in post-judgment matters.

52-362             Support Enforcement collection matters.

37-3a &           Post-judgment interest rate for certain civil matters.
37-3b  

6-38e               Audit authority of the State Marshal Commission

6-38 (d)           State marshal must perform work in order to collect a fee.

52-55               Completion of service by another state marshal.

Forms

The following is a list of the common forms utilized for wage executions.   Note that these forms are updated frequently by the Judicial Branch.  Accordingly, it is important to verify that the most recent form has been utilized.  These forms are available at the Forms section of the Judicial Branch website located at: http://www.jud.ct.gov/ Opens in a new window

JD-CV-50       Notice of Judgment And Order For Weekly Payments

JD-CV-3         Wage Execution Proceedings - Application, Order, Execution

JD-CV-3a        Exemption and Modification Claim Form, Wage Execution

JD-CV-23       Post Judgment Remedies, Interrogatories

JD-CV-54       Application for Examination of Judgment Debtor and Notice of Hearing