© 2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2025 ed. | 191 To determine the permissible garnishment amount, Massachusetts employers must calculate all possible garnishment limits under state and federal law. The smallest amount produced by the different formulas is the maximum wage that may be garnished.1204 The following table provides an example of garnishment calculations for a Massachusetts employee earning $20.00 per hour, using the current Massachusetts minimum wage of $15.00 per hour and current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Calculating the Maximum Garnishment for a Massachusetts Employee Earning $20.00 per Hour Based on a Massachusetts Minimum Wage of $15.00 per Hour and a Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25 per Hour Step 1: Calculate disposable earnings (those wages left over after mandatory withholdings). We assume weekly earnings of $800.00 ($20.00 per hour x 40 hours worked) and disposable earnings of $600.00 per week. Step 2: Massachusetts calculation #1. Total weekly earnings of $800.00 - $750 (50 x $15 minimum wage, which exceeds $7.25 federal minimum wage) = $50.00 maximum weekly garnishment. Step 3: Massachusetts calculation #2. 15% of $800.00 in total weekly earnings = $120.00 maximum weekly garnishment. Step 4: CCPA calculation #1. 25% of $600.00 in disposable earnings = $150.00 maximum weekly garnishment. Step 4: CCPA calculation #2. $600.00 in disposable earnings - $217.50 (30 x $7.25 minimum wage) = $382.50 maximum weekly garnishment. Step 5: Use the lowest garnishment amount of $50 per week. 2. Garnishments for Support Orders When net wages are garnished pursuant to child or spousal support orders, the employee receives less protection under both Massachusetts and federal law. Under Massachusetts law, the statutory exemption does not apply to support orders; instead, state law provides that the federal law limiting the amounts which may be attached shall apply.1205 The CCPA allows larger garnishments for support orders—up to 50 percent of a week’s disposable earnings if the employee supports a spouse or child other than the one indicated in the support order (e.g., the employee remarried or has other children), and 60 percent if the employee has no additional dependents.1206 If the support payments are more than twelve weeks in arrears, these limits increase to 55 percent and 65 percent, respectively.1207 1204 Id. 1205 M.G.L. ch. 246, § 28. 1206 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(2). 1207 Id.
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