ARTICLE 5 - CONTINUING GARNISHMENT
 
1-15-501.  Definitions.
 
(a)  As used in this article:
 
(i)  "Continuing garnishment" means any procedure for withholding the earnings of a judgment debtor for successive pay periods for payment of a judgment debt;
 
(ii)  "Court" means any district court or circuit court of this state;
 
(iii)  "Disposable earnings" means that part of an individual's earnings remaining after the deduction of all amounts required by law to be withheld;
 
(iv)  "Earnings" means compensation paid or payable for personal services, including but not limited to wages, salary, commission, bonus, proceeds of any pension or retirement benefits or deferred compensation plan. "Earnings" does not include compensation paid as per diem;
 
(v)  "Garnishee" means a person other than a judgment creditor or judgment debtor who is in possession of earnings of the judgment debtor and who is subject to garnishment in accordance with the provisions of this article;
 
(vi)  "Garnishment" means any procedure through which the property or earnings of an individual in the possession or control of a garnishee are required to be withheld for payment of a judgment debt;
 
(vii)  "Judgment creditor" means any person who has recovered a money judgment against a judgment debtor in a court of competent jurisdiction;
 
(viii)  "Judgment debtor" means any person who has a judgment entered against him in a court of competent jurisdiction.
 
1-15-502.  Continuing garnishment; creation of lien.
 
(a)  In addition to garnishment proceedings otherwise available under the laws of this state, in any case in which a money judgment is obtained in a court of competent jurisdiction the judgment creditor or his assignees shall be entitled, in accordance with this article, to have the clerk of the court issue a writ for continuing garnishment against any garnishee who is an employer of the judgment debtor. Issuance of a writ of execution is not a prerequisite to issuance of a writ of continuing garnishment. To the extent that the earnings are not exempt from garnishment, the garnishment shall be a lien and continuing levy upon the earnings due or to become due to the judgment debtor at the time the writ of continuing garnishment is served on the garnishee.
 
(b)  Subject to the provisions of W.S. 1-15-504, garnishment pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be a lien and continuing levy against said earnings due until such time as the employment relationship is terminated, the underlying judgment is vacated, modified or satisfied in full, the writ is dismissed, or ninety (90) days have expired since service of the writ, whichever is sooner. A continuing garnishment may be suspended for a specified period of time by the judgment creditor upon agreement with the judgment debtor. The agreement shall be in writing and filed by the judgment creditor with the clerk of the court in which the judgment was entered and a copy of the agreement shall be delivered by the judgment creditor to the garnishee.
 
(c)  Continuing garnishment pursuant to this article shall apply only to proceedings against the earnings of a judgment debtor who is a natural person.
 
1-15-503.  Earnings subject to continuing garnishment.
 
(a)  Subject to the provisions of W.S. 1-15-504, any earnings owed by the garnishee to the judgment debtor at the time of service of the writ of continuing garnishment upon the garnishee and all earnings accruing from the garnishee to the judgment debtor from the date of service up to and including the ninetieth day thereafter is subject to the process of continuing garnishment.
 
(b)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the exemptions from garnishment shall apply to continuing garnishments.
 
1-15-504.  Priority between multiple garnishments.
 
(a)  Only one (1) writ of continuing garnishment against earnings due the judgment debtor shall be satisfied at one (1) time. When more than one (1) writ of continuing garnishment has been issued against earnings due the same judgment debtor, they shall be satisfied in the order of service on the garnishee. When a writ of continuing garnishment is served upon a garnishee during the effective period of a prior writ of continuing garnishment, service of the subsequent writ shall be deemed effective from the time the liens of all prior writs have terminated. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a lien and continuing levy obtained pursuant to this article shall have priority over any subsequent garnishment lien or wage attachment. In any civil action, a judgment creditor shall serve no more than one (1) writ of continuing garnishment upon any one (1) garnishee for the same judgment debtor during any ninety (90) day period.
 
(b)  Where a continuing garnishment has been suspended for a specific period of time by agreement of the parties pursuant to W.S. 1-15-502(b), the suspended continuing garnishment shall have priority over any writ of garnishment or continuing garnishment served on the garnishee after the suspension has expired. No suspension shall extend the running of the ninety (90) day effective period of the writ nor otherwise affect priorities.
 
(c)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an income withholding order for child support obtained pursuant to W.S. 20-6-201 through 20-6-222 shall have priority over any other continuing garnishment. If an income withholding order is served during the effective period of a writ of continuing garnishment, the effective period shall be tolled and all priorities preserved until the termination of the income withholding order.
 
(d)  Any writ of garnishment or continuing garnishment served upon a garnishee while any previous writ of continuing garnishment is still in effect shall be answered by the garnishee with a statement that he has been served previously with one (1) or more writs of continuing garnishment against earnings due the judgment debtor and specifying the date on which all such liens are expected to terminate.
 
(e)  Upon the termination of a lien and continuing levy obtained pursuant to this article, any other writ of garnishment or continuing garnishment which has been issued or which is issued subsequently against earnings due the judgment debtor shall have priority in the order of service on the garnishee. The person who serves a writ of continuing garnishment on a garnishee shall note the date and time of the service.
 
1-15-505.  Service of writ; notice to judgment debtor in continuing garnishment; payment to clerk of court.
 
(a)  The judgment creditor shall serve two (2) copies of the writ of continuing garnishment upon the garnishee, one (1) copy of which the garnishee shall deliver to the judgment debtor as provided in W.S. 1-15-506. The writ shall be served on the garnishee in the same manner as a summons under Rule 4(d) of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure or by certified mail sent to the garnishee at the address of its principal place of business in accordance with Rule 4(r) of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure. The writ shall include notice to the judgment debtor of the formula used to calculate:
 
(i)  The amount of exempt earnings owed to the judgment debtor for a single pay period; and
 
(ii)  The amount of nonexempt earnings payable to the judgment creditor for a single pay period.
 
(b)  The writ shall contain notice to the judgment debtor of his right to object to the calculation of exempt and nonexempt earnings and his right to a hearing on his objection.
 
(c)  The writ shall direct the garnishee to pay over all earnings withheld under this article to the clerk of the court from which the writ was issued.
 
1-15-506.  Service of notice upon judgment debtor; answer and tender of payment by garnishee.
 
(a)  The garnishee shall deliver a copy of the writ of continuing garnishment required by W.S. 1-15-505, together with the calculation of exempt earnings, to the judgment debtor at the time the judgment debtor receives earnings for the first pay period affected by the writ of continuing garnishment. For all subsequent pay periods affected by the writ, the garnishee shall deliver a copy of the calculation of the amount of exempt earnings to the judgment debtor at the time the judgment debtor receives earnings for that pay period.
 
(b)  Compliance with this section and W.S. 1-15-505 by the judgment creditor shall be deemed to give sufficient notice to the judgment debtor of the continuing garnishment proceedings against him, and no further notice shall be required under this article.
 
(c)  The garnishee shall file with the court a verified answer to the writ of continuing garnishment no later than ten (10) days following the date the judgment debtor receives earnings for the first pay period affected by the writ, or forty (40) days following the date the writ was served upon the garnishee, whichever is earlier. The answer of the garnishee shall state:
 
(i)  Whether the judgment debtor was employed by the garnishee on the date the writ was served;
 
(ii)  Whether the judgment debtor is paid weekly, monthly or otherwise;
 
(iii)  The dates on which the judgment debtor will be paid during the ninety (90) day effective period of the writ;
 
(iv)  The amount of the judgment debtor's regular gross pay and an itemization of deductions regularly withheld from the judgment debtor's gross pay by the garnishee; and
 
(v)  Whether any other outstanding writ of continuing garnishment or income withholding order for child support relating to the judgment debtor has been served on the garnishee and if so the date on which each writ or order is expected to terminate.
 
(d)  For each pay period affected by the writ, the garnishee shall pay any nonexempt earnings and deliver a calculation of the amount of exempt earnings to the clerk of the court which issued the writ no less than five (5) nor more than ten (10) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, following the day the judgment debtor receives earnings affected by the writ.
 
1-15-507.  Judgment debtor to file written objection.
 
(a)  If the judgment debtor objects to the calculation of the amount of exempt earnings, the judgment debtor shall have five (5) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, from receipt of the calculation of exempt earnings within which to resolve the issue of the miscalculation by agreement with the garnishee, during which time the garnishee shall not tender any monies to the clerk of the court. If the objection is not resolved within five (5) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, the garnishee shall pay the withheld income to the clerk of the court in which the judgment was entered and the judgment debtor may file a written objection with the clerk setting forth with reasonable detail the grounds for the objection. The judgment debtor's objection shall be filed with the clerk of court and a copy mailed to the judgment creditor or his attorney of record within five (5) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, from the date the withheld earnings are received by the clerk of court. If the objection is not filed within the time allowed, the clerk of court shall pay the withheld income to the judgment creditor.
 
(b)  Upon the filing of a written objection, all further proceedings with relation to the disposition of the earnings shall be stayed until the matter of the objection is determined.
 
(c)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a judgment debtor failing to make a written objection may, at any time within ninety (90) days from receipt of a calculation of exempt earnings, and for good cause shown, move the court in which the judgment was entered to hear an objection as to any earnings levied in continuing garnishment, the amount of which the judgment debtor claims to have been miscalculated.
 
1-15-508.  Hearing on objection.
 
(a)  Upon the filing of an objection pursuant to W.S. 1-15-507(a), the court in which the judgment was entered shall set a time for the hearing of the objection, which shall be not more than ten (10) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after filing. The clerk of the court where the objection is filed shall immediately inform the judgment creditor or his attorney of record and the judgment debtor or his attorney of record by telephone, by mail or in person of the date set for the hearing.
 
(b)  The certificate of the clerk of the court that service of notice of the hearing has been made in the manner and form stated in subsection (a) of this section, which certificate has been attached to the court file, shall constitute prima facie evidence of service, and the certificate of service filed with the clerk of the court is sufficient return of service.
 
(c)  Upon hearing, the court shall determine whether the amount of the judgment debtor's exempt earnings was correctly calculated by the garnishee and shall enter an order or judgment setting forth the determination of the court. If the amount of exempt earnings is found to have been miscalculated, the court shall order the clerk of the court to remit the amount of over garnished earnings to the judgment debtor.
 
(d)  If the judgment debtor moves the court to hear an objection within the time provided by W.S. 1-15-507(c) and the judgment giving rise to the claim has been satisfied against earnings of the judgment debtor, the court shall determine whether the amount of the judgment debtor's earnings paid to the judgment creditor was correctly calculated and shall issue an order setting forth the determination of the court. If the amount of earnings is found to have been miscalculated, the court shall order the judgment creditor to remit immediately the amount of the over garnished earnings to the judgment debtor.
 
(e)  Any order or judgment entered by the court as provided for in subsections (c) and (d) of this section is a final judgment or order for the purpose of appellate review.
 
1-15-509.  No discharge from employment for any garnishment; general prohibition.
 
(a)  No employer shall discharge an employee for the reason that a creditor of the employee has subjected or attempted to subject unpaid earnings of the employee to any continuing garnishment directed to the employer for the purpose of paying any judgment.
 
(b)  If an employer discharges an employee in violation of the provisions of this section, the employee may, within one hundred twenty (120) days, bring a civil action for the recovery of wages lost as a result of the violation and for an order requiring the reinstatement of the employee. Damages recoverable shall be lost wages not to exceed thirty (30) working days, costs and reasonable attorney fees.
 
1-15-510.  Forms.
 
Affidavits, notices, writs and other forms for use in continuing garnishment shall be in accordance with rules promulgated by the supreme court of Wyoming.
 
1-15-511.  Limitation on continuing garnishment.
 
(a)  The maximum portion of the aggregate disposable earnings of a judgment debtor which are subject to continuing garnishment under this article is the lesser of:
 
(i)  Twenty-five percent (25%) of the judgment debtor's disposable earnings for that week; or
 
(ii)  The amount by which the judgment debtor's aggregate disposable earnings computed for that week exceeds thirty (30) times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1), in effect at the time the earnings are payable, or, in case of earnings for any pay period other than a week, any equivalent multiple thereof prescribed by the administrator of the Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code in the manner provided by W.S. 40-14-505(b)(iii).