Definitions
- Garnishment: Legal procedure in which a university employee’s earnings are required by court order to be withheld by the university for the payment of a debt.
- Levy: Legal assessment against an employee’s wages that is initiated by the Internal Revenue Service or a state-specific Department of Revenue to satisfy a tax debt.
- Disposable Earnings: The amount remaining from the gross earnings for a pay period after the deductions required by Federal and State laws are made.
Please note: The university may deduct a small administrative fee, as permitted by law, when processing child support, garnishments, and levies.
How Deductions Are Calculated
Garnishment and levy deductions are calculated by the following:
- Levies
Levies are calculated against disposable earnings. - Garnishments
Garnishments can be up to 25% of disposable earnings unless a different percentage is negotiated through the court.
Court-ordered child support deductions take priority and is deducted before any levy or garnishment amounts are applied.
Notification and Timing
When the Payroll department receives a notice of a levy or garnishment, a copy of the notice is mailed to your home address.
- For levies: You’ll receive instructions for completing the withholding statement along with a copy of the official levy paperwork.
- For garnishments: You’ll receive a copy of the court-filed answer sheet, which confirms that the garnishment will be withheld.
- For child support: You’ll receive a copy of the court-file which confirms that the child support should be withheld.
Withholding begins on the next available payday following receipt of the notice. For example, if a notice is received on Monday or Tuesday of pay week, the first deduction will occur the following pay day Friday.
Deductions continue until the levy or garnishment is paid in full or the issuing entity confirms alternate arrangements. A formal Release of Levy or Release of Garnishment (sometimes called a Quash Order) or a release of the Child Support must be received by the Payroll department to stop the withholding.
Receiving Child/Spousal Support, Levies, and Garnishments
The Payroll department is responsible for receiving and processing all levies, child supports and garnishments. An employee’s department must not accept a levy, child support order or garnishment.
If a levy, child support order or garnishment is received by mail in the employee’s department, it must be forwarded to the Payroll department. If a levy, child support order or garnishment is hand delivered by a process server in the employee’s department, they must be redirected to the Payroll department, which is located at:
888 North Euclid Avenue
University Services Building, Room 502
Tucson, Arizona 85721
Additional documentation for child/spousal support, levies, and garnishments may also be uploaded through the Payroll Document Upload portal.
Upon receipt of a levy, child support order or garnishment, the Payroll department will verify the social security number, name, and address to confirm that the order is against a current employee. If the levy, child support order or garnishment is for a terminated, retired, or deceased employee, the issuer/creditor will be notified.