Rhode Island: Wage Garnishment Limits
The short answer
Rhode Island's own wage-exemption statute is badly out of date: it only shields the first $50 of an ordinary debtor's wages, a figure last touched decades ago. In practice that doesn't control, because federal law sets a floor no state may fall below, so the federal formula (the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage) governs Rhode Island garnishments instead. Child support garnishment and wage assignments automatically outrank an ordinary creditor's garnishment on the same paycheck, no matter which was served first.
| Governing law | R.I. Gen. Laws § 10-5-8 (garnishment of wages, restricted to amounts not exempt by law, and child-support priority); § 9-26-4(8) (the state's own wage-exemption amounts); 15 U.S.C. § 1673 (federal floor that fills the gap left by the outdated state exemption) |
|---|---|
| Maximum that can be garnished | Rhode Island's own statute only exempts the first $50 of an 'other' debtor's wages from attachment (§ 9-26-4(8)(iii)) — a flat dollar figure, not updated in the state's 2025 amendments to this same section (which added an unrelated tuition-savings-account exemption). Because federal law bars any state from providing LESS protection than the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act floor, the effective cap in Rhode Island is the federal formula: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)). Rhode Island's garnishment statute, § 10-5-8, attaches wages only 'as is in excess of the amount... exempt by law from attachment' — a cross-reference that pulls in the federal floor once the state's own $50 figure is preempted as too thin |
| State rule vs. federal floor | Rhode Island's own codified wage exemption ($50 flat) is far LESS protective than the federal floor, so it is preempted and the federal 25%/30x-minimum-wage formula controls directly. Rhode Island neither adds its own more-protective formula nor bars garnishment; it simply defaults to the federal floor because its own statute was never updated |
| Minimum-wage protected floor | 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage under 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1) (currently $217.50/week at $7.25/hour) — the plain federal multiplier, since Rhode Island's own statute sets no competing minimum-wage-based floor for ordinary garnishment |
| Support, tax & student loan debts | Child support garnishment (§ 15-5-25) and wage assignments for support (§ 15-5-24, or chapter 16 of title 15) automatically take priority over an ordinary garnishment under § 10-5-8, 'whether or not the garnishment or assignment... occurs before or after any garnishment' under the ordinary section, and no apportionment to any other garnishment (including for taxes) occurs until child support is paid in full (§ 10-5-8(b)). Support income withholding under § 15-5-24 is also not subject to the ordinary wage exemption at all except as federal law requires (§ 15-5-24(g)). Federal student loan administrative wage garnishment and state/federal tax levies proceed through their own separate channels outside this chapter |
| Head-of-household/family exemption | None specific to wages. Rhode Island's exemption list does protect 'the salary and wages of the wife and the minor children of any debtor' outright (§ 9-26-4(9)) — a family-member-specific exemption rather than a head-of-household add-on to the debtor's own wage cap — but there is no extra percentage or dollar exemption for a debtor who is themselves supporting a family, on top of the (federally-controlled) ordinary cap |
| Multiple garnishments at once | No general Rhode Island statute sets a first-in-time or combined-cap rule among multiple ORDINARY garnishments; the only express statutory priority rule found is the one for child support and support wage assignments automatically outranking an ordinary garnishment under § 10-5-8(b), regardless of which was served first. Rhode Island's trustee-process chapter (title 10, ch. 17) sets procedural rules for a single trustee's account and liability but does not itself resolve competing ordinary garnishments |
| Protection from being fired | No Rhode Island statute specific to ordinary wage garnishment was found protecting against discharge — only the federal floor (15 U.S.C. § 1674, barring discharge for a first garnishment on one debt) applies. Rhode Island does have its own anti-discharge protection for child support wage withholding specifically: an employer 'may not use the wage withholding as a basis for the discharge of an employee or for any disciplinary action against the employee' (§ 15-5-24(e)), but that provision doesn't extend to ordinary creditor garnishments |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
The short answer
Rhode Island's own wage-garnishment law hasn't kept up with the times: on
paper, it only protects the first $50 of an ordinary debtor's wages from
attachment, and that number hasn't been updated even in a 2025 round of
amendments to the same statute. In practice, that $50 figure doesn't
actually control, because federal law sets a floor that no state can fall
below. So the real cap in Rhode Island is the federal formula: the lesser of
25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum
wage. Child support garnishment always comes first on the same paycheck, no
matter which garnishment was served first.
Requirements one by one
Governing law
The garnishment mechanics and the child-support-priority rule are in R.I.
Gen. Laws § 10-5-8. The actual dollar exemption amounts for wages sit in a
different, older statute, § 9-26-4(8)-(9) (part of the general "levy and
sale on execution" chapter). Because Rhode Island's own exemption amount is
too small to satisfy federal law, the federal wage-garnishment statute,
15 U.S.C. § 1673, effectively supplies the real cap.
Maximum garnishment amount
Read literally, Rhode Island's own statute exempts only the first $50 of an
"other" debtor's wages (§ 9-26-4(8)(iii)) — a flat dollar amount, not a
percentage or a minimum-wage multiple, and one the legislature didn't touch
even when it amended this same section in 2025. Federal law doesn't let any
state provide LESS protection than its own floor, so that thin $50
exemption is superseded, and the real cap that applies is the federal
formula: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which
disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. Rhode
Island's garnishment statute, § 10-5-8, is written broadly enough to pull
this in — it only lets a creditor reach wages "in excess of the amount...
exempt by law from attachment," and federal law is part of that law.
Federal floor comparison
Rhode Island doesn't add its own more-protective rule and isn't a bar
state — its own codified exemption is simply outdated and less protective
than the federal floor, so the federal 25%/30x-minimum-wage formula
controls by default rather than by an explicit state cross-reference.
Minimum wage protection floor
30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (currently $217.50/week at
$7.25/hour), the plain federal multiplier under 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)(2),
since Rhode Island's own statute sets no competing state minimum-wage-based
floor for ordinary garnishment.
Priority debt exceptions
Child support garnishment and support wage assignments automatically
outrank an ordinary creditor's garnishment on the same paycheck under
§ 10-5-8(b) — regardless of which was served first — and no other
garnishment, including for taxes, gets any share until child support is
paid in full. Support income withholding under § 15-5-24 is exempt from the
ordinary wage exemption limits altogether except to the extent federal law
requires otherwise. Federal student loan wage garnishment and state or
federal tax levies run through their own separate collection channels
outside this chapter.
Head-of-household exemption
Rhode Island fully exempts "the salary and wages of the wife and the minor
children of any debtor" (§ 9-26-4(9)) — protecting a family member's OWN
earnings from a debtor's creditors, rather than giving the debtor an extra
percentage or dollar exemption for supporting a family. There's no add-on
head-of-household cut to the debtor's own wage cap beyond the (federally
controlled) ordinary formula.
Multiple garnishments priority
No general Rhode Island statute sets a first-in-time or combined-cap rule
among competing ORDINARY garnishments; the one clear statutory priority
rule is that child support and support wage assignments always outrank an
ordinary garnishment under § 10-5-8(b), regardless of timing. The
trustee-process chapter (title 10, ch. 17) governs a single trustee's
account and liability but doesn't itself resolve priority among multiple
ordinary garnishees.
Employee termination protection
No Rhode Island statute specific to ordinary wage garnishment protects
against discharge — only the federal floor (15 U.S.C. § 1674, barring
discharge for a first garnishment on one debt) applies. Rhode Island does
protect employees specifically for child support wage withholding: an
employer can't use that withholding as a basis for discharge or discipline
(§ 15-5-24(e)), but that protection doesn't extend to ordinary creditor
garnishments.
What trips people up
Don't read Rhode Island's own $50 wage exemption literally — it looks like
almost nothing is protected, but federal law fills the gap and the real,
enforceable cap is the same 25%/30x-minimum-wage test used nationwide.
Also don't assume an earlier ordinary garnishment protects you from a
later child support order: support garnishment jumps the line automatically
under Rhode Island law, no matter which was served first.
Common questions
Does Rhode Island really only protect $50 of my paycheck?
Not in practice. That $50 figure in Rhode Island's own statute is outdated
and less protective than federal law allows, so the federal 25%/30x
formula controls instead.
Can a credit card company's garnishment come before a child support
order?
No. Rhode Island law gives child support garnishment and support wage
assignments automatic priority over an ordinary garnishment, regardless of
which one was served on your employer first.
Can my employer fire me for being garnished?
Rhode Island has no state law specific to ordinary garnishment on this
point — only the federal rule applies, which protects you from discharge
for a first garnishment on one debt, but not for two or more.
Statutes and sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 10-5-8 — https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE10/10-5/10-5-8.htm (accessed 2026-07-05)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-26-4 — https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE9/9-26/9-26-4.htm (accessed 2026-07-05)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-24 — https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE15/15-5/15-5-24.htm (accessed 2026-07-05)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title15/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673 (accessed 2026-07-05)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1677 — https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title15/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1677 (accessed 2026-07-05)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.