Wage Garnishment Limits in Louisiana
At a glance
| Governing law | La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1) sets ordinary and support wage exemptions; § 13:3925 treats qualifying employee-to-employer debt as a prior garnishment; § 46:236.3 governs support priority; § 23:731(C) governs job protection. |
|---|---|
| Maximum that can be garnished | At most 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30× the federal minimum hourly wage per week, whichever is less (La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1)(a)). |
| State rule vs. federal floor | The ordinary 75%-exempt/30×-federal-wage floor matches the federal CCPA’s 25%/30× formula (La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1)(a); 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). |
| Minimum-wage protected floor | At least 30× the federal minimum hourly wage for weekly pay, scaled for a longer or shorter pay period (§ 13:3881(A)(1)(a)). |
| Support, tax & student loan debts | Child-support obligations have a 50%-of-disposable-earnings exemption and spousal-support obligations a 60% exemption under § 13:3881(A)(1)(a); support orders take preference over other garnishments (§ 46:236.3(H)). |
| Head-of-household/family exemption | No dependent-based increment in the ordinary § 13:3881(A)(1)(a) formula; support obligations have separate percentages. |
| Multiple garnishments at once | A liquidated employee debt to the employer may be treated as a prior garnishment, without preference over child support (§ 13:3925). Support orders outrank other garnishment (§ 46:236.3(H)); simultaneous support orders are prorated, with current support prioritized (§ 46:236.3(E)(5)). |
| Protection from being fired | § 23:731(C) protects against discharge or refusal to hire over a voluntary assignment or one garnishment; discharge may follow three or more unrelated garnishments in two years, excluding specified accident/illness garnishments. § 46:236.3(J) separately bars support-withholding retaliation. |
Requirements one by one
Maximum that can be garnished
La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1)(a) exempts 75% of disposable earnings, never less than 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage for a week. The amount available to an ordinary creditor is therefore the lesser of 25% or the amount above that floor, matching 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a). Section 13:3881(A)(1)(b) defines disposable earnings for this state formula, including specified usual deductions for retirement, insurance, and debts legally owed to the employer.
Support obligations
The same paragraph protects 50% of disposable earnings when collecting current or overdue child support, and 60% for spousal or former-spousal support. It also states how a combined or unclear child-and-spouse award is treated when the Department of Children and Family Services provides enforcement services. Under § 46:236.3(H), a support order has preference over another garnishment proceeding.
Multiple garnishments at once
Section 13:3925 permits a qualifying, liquidated debt that an employee owes the employer to be treated as if the employer held a prior garnishment, after disclosure and an opportunity for creditor opposition. The section expressly withholds any preference over child support. Under § 46:236.3(E)(5), simultaneous support orders are prorated, and current support receives priority when funds are insufficient.
Protection from being fired
Section 23:731(C) bars discharge or denial of employment because of a voluntary assignment or single earnings garnishment. It allows discharge after three or more garnishments for unrelated debts in two years, but excludes a garnishment tied to an accident or illness that caused ten or more consecutive missed workdays. Section 46:236.3(J) separately prohibits discharge, discipline, or other penalty because of support withholding. For such retaliation, § 46:236.3(K)(3) permits reinstatement or restitution; its $50-per-day fine in (K)(2) concerns failure to withhold or pay over support.
What trips people up
The child and spousal percentages differ from the ordinary 75% exemption. Also, the $50-per-day support-payor fine is for a withholding or remittance failure, whereas reinstatement or restitution addresses prohibited job retaliation. A 2025 act changes the name of the support enforcement office in § 46:236.3(A)(2) on October 1, 2027; the wage limits above are unaffected.
Common questions
Does an employer’s claimed debt automatically come ahead of a creditor’s writ? Section 13:3925 requires disclosure of the debt and allows the seizing creditor to oppose its treatment as liquidated; the court may decide the issue.
Can support withholding take priority over a prior ordinary garnishment? Section 46:236.3(H) gives a support order preference over another garnishment proceeding.
Statutes and sources
- La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1)(a) — https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=77632 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- La. R.S. 23:731(C) — https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83970 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- La. R.S. 13:3925 — https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=77651 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- La. R.S. 46:236.3(E)(5) — https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=100632 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- La. R.S. 46:236.3(H) — https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=100632 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- La. R.S. 46:236.3(J) — https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=100632 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- 20 U.S.C. § 1095a(a)(1) — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title20/html/USCODE-2024-title20-chap28-subchapIV-partG-sec1095a.htm (accessed 2026-10-07)
- La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1)(b) — https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=77632 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- La. R.S. 46:236.3(K)(2)–(3) — https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=100632 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- La. R.S. 46:236.3(A)(2) effective-date note — https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=100632 (accessed 2026-10-07)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a) — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673.htm (accessed 2026-10-07)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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