Stop Wage Garnishment in Connecticut

Sarah Edwards | June 12, 2023

Edited by Hannah Locklear

When you’re facing financial difficulties, finding a solution feels impossible — especially if you’re having trouble making ends meet. Taking on more debt than you can reasonably handle or experiencing an unexpected event, like job loss, can make it impossible to stay on top of your obligations.

However, creditors tend to freak out when you stop making regular payments. They may tolerate it for a few months, but you’ll probably incur late fees, making it even harder to get caught up on your debt. If you stop answering creditors’ phone calls and don’t try to resolve the issue, they’ll step up their collection efforts and may even sue you.

If you receive a Summons for a Connecticut debt lawsuit against you, you must take action fast. A debt lawsuit indicates that a creditor or debt collector wants to obtain a judgment so it can garnish your wages. Avoiding a judgment is critical to prevent wage garnishment. Without a judgment, no creditor can take your pay.

Let’s walk through the Connecticut wage garnishment laws so you understand just how serious a debt lawsuit can be.

Avoid wage garnishment in Connecticut by settling your debt lawsuit with the help of SoloSettle.

Connecticut has tough wage garnishment laws

Every state has its own policies when it comes to wage garnishment. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-361a, Connecticut limits wage garnishments to the lessor of:

• 25% of your disposable weekly earnings.
• The amount of your disposable earnings if they exceed 40 times the Connecticut minimum wage of $15.00 per hour (effective June 1, 2023).

Your disposable earnings equal your salary less any required withholdings, like federal and state taxes.

There are several exemptions available that some people may qualify for. For example, people who receive state benefits like welfare and are working under a special incentive qualify for an exemption from wage garnishment under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-352b.

Similarly, income from disability insurance, unemployment, workers’ compensation, and Social Security is exempt from wage garnishment in Connecticut.

Wage garnishment is only possible if the debtor fails to comply with a court-ordered installment payment agreement under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-361a. Thus, a creditor must jump through multiple hoops before it can successfully garnish your wages in Connecticut.

Let’s consider an example.

In our example, Tony will suffer financial hardship over the four weeks. He may find it difficult to pay his other obligations, like rent.

Besides the financial repercussions of the wage garnishment, he may feel embarrassed about his financial problems. His employer will learn of the judgment against him when the court tells it to withhold part of Tony’s pay.

Fortunately, his employer can’t fire him for failing to pay his bills. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-361a(j), an employer can only terminate an employee for wage garnishment if they have more than seven garnishments in a calendar year.

Learn how to settle your Connecticut debt lawsuit in three simple steps — watch the following video.

Stop a Connecticut wage garnishment by communicating with your creditors

When you feel a debt is beginning to spiral out of control, it’s wise to take action and reach out to your creditors. Sometimes, creditors will help you get back on track with a special payment arrangement. For instance, if you’ve lost your job and don’t have an income, they may give you a few months to get back on your feet before requiring you to resume your payments.

Problems occur when you don’t communicate. Your creditors will begin calling you and sending letters. If you don’t respond, they may sue you or sell your debt to a collections agency, expediting the collections process.

Don't ignore the legal process if you’re the subject of a debt lawsuit. Your best course of action is to find the money to repay the debt. Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially if you don’t have much savings. Consider asking a close relative for a loan or selling a few items you don’t need for cash.

If you can’t come up with the entire amount due, you can pursue a debt settlement. With a debt settlement, you offer the creditor or debt collector a percentage of your debt. In exchange, it agrees to release you from the remaining amount and drop the lawsuit against you.

For example, if you owe $1,000, you might offer $600, or 60% of the debt’s value, to settle the debt. The creditor or debt collector will consider your offer against the other alternative, which is the legal process. If it decides the costs of a judgment and the administrative burden of wage garnishment aren’t worth the effort, it will accept your settlement offer.

Avoiding a creditor won’t stop it from taking legal action

Dealing with a debt you can’t afford to pay can be frustrating, but you’ll want to work out a resolution before it gets out of control. Creditors will usually work with you. However, if the creditor decides to sue you, you must take immediate action to avoid a judgment and wage garnishment in Connecticut.

Is a creditor suing you for debt in Connecticut? Settle your debt with the help of SoloSettle and avoid a judgment.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)

How to answer a summons for debt collection in your state

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.

• Alabama
• Alaska
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• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
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• Texas
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Guides on how to beat every debt collector

Being sued by a different debt collector? Were making guides on how to beat each one.

• Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC
• Accredited Collection Services
• Alliance One
• Amcol Clmbia
• American Recovery Service
• Asset Acceptance LLC
• Asset Recovery Solutions
• Associated Credit Services
• Autovest LLC
• Cach LLC
• Cavalry SPV I LLC
• Cerastes LLC
• Colinfobur
• Covington Credit
• Crown Asset Management
• CTC Debt Collector
• Cypress Financial Recoveries
• Delanor Kemper & Associates
• Eagle Loan of Ohio
• Educap
• Estate Information Services
• FIA Card Services
• Forster & Garbus
• Freshview Solutions
• Fulton Friedman & Gullace LLP
• Harvest Credit Management
• Howard Lee Schiff
• Hudson & Keyse LLC
• Integras Capital Recovery LLC
• Javitch Block
• Jefferson Capital Systems LLC
• LVNV Funding
• Mannbracken
• Mariner Finance
• Medicredit
• Michael J Adams PC
• Michael J Scott
• Midland Funding LLC
• Mullooly, Jeffrey, Rooney & Flynn
• Mountain Land Collections
• MRS Associates
• National Collegiate Trust
• Nationstar Foreclosure
• Northstar Capital Acquisition
• NCEP LLC
• NRC Collection Agency
• OneMain Financial
• Palisades Collection LLC
• Pallida LLC
• Paragon Revenue Group
• Pinnacle Collections Agency
• PMAB LLC
• Portfolio Recovery Associates
• Provest Law
• PYOD LLC
• Reunion Student Loan Finance Corporation
• Revenue Group
• Regents and Associates
• RSIEH
• Salander Enterprises LLC
• Second Round Sub LLC
• Security Credit Services
• Sherman Financial Group
• Suttell and Hammer
• T-Mobile
• Transworld Systems
• Tulsa Teachers Credit Union
• UCB Collection
• Velo Law Office
• Velocity Investments
• Waypoint Resource Group
• Weinberg and Associates
• Wolpoff & Abramson

Win against credit card companies

Is your credit card company suing you? Learn how you can beat each one.

• Bank of America
• Capital One
• Chase
• Credit One Bank
• PayPal Synchrony Card
• SYNCB/PPEXTR
• Synchrony Bank
• Target National Bank
• Wells Fargo

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