Attorneys General Urge No Garnishments on Stimulus Payments

Relief payments made during the coronavirus crisis should be exempt from garnishments, a group of state attorneys general said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which authorizes the Treasury Department to issue emergency payments of up to $1,200 for eligible adults and up to $500 for eligible children, did not state that the payments were exempt from garnishment, the attorneys general said in a news release.
Government relief programs, such as Social Security, disability, and veterans’ payments, were exempt from garnishments, they said.

The failure to explicitly exempt the CARES Act payments from garnishments was “a likely oversight by Congress to quickly pass the law,” the attorneys general said. Mnuchin should issue regulations or guidance that designate CARES Act payments as funds exempt from garnishment, the letter said.

The letter was signed by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Hawaii’s Office of Consumer Protections.