Code of the District of Columbia

§ 16–573. Employer’s duty to withhold and make payments; percentage.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an employer upon whom an attachment is served, and who:

(1) at the time is indebted for wages to an employee who is the judgment debtor named in the attachment; or

(2) becomes so indebted to the judgment debtor in the future —

shall, while the attachment remains a lien upon such indebtedness, withhold and pay to the judgment creditor, or his legal representative, within 15 days after the close of the last pay period of the judgment debtor ending in each calendar month, that percentage of wages payable to the judgment debtor for the pay period or periods ending in such calendar month to which the judgment creditor is entitled under the terms of this subchapter until the attachment is wholly satisfied.

(b) Upon written notice of any court proceeding attacking the attachment or the judgment on which it is based, or the filing of a motion seeking an exemption under [§ [16-572.01]], the employer shall not withhold from the judgment debtor or pay to the judgment creditor or his legal representative until receipt of an order of court terminating the proceedings.

(c) Any payments made by an employer-garnishee in conformity with this section shall be a discharge of the liability of the employer to the judgment debtor to the extent of the payment.

(d) Under this section, except as provided in § 16-577, the employer-garnishee shall not withhold from the judgment debtor or pay to the judgment creditor any portion of the gross wages payable to the judgment debtor for any week in which the judgment debtor's disposable wages do not exceed 40 times the minimum hourly wage, as prescribed in [§ 32-1003], in effect at the time the wages are payable.