what is garnishment 
garnishment or wage garnishment is when money is legally withheld from your paycheck and sent to another party it refers to a legal process that instructs a third party to deduct payments directly from a debtor s wage or bank account typically the third party is the debtor s employer and is known as the garnishee federal law prohibits employers from firing a worker to avoid processing a garnishment payment 1 garnishments are used for debts such as unpaid taxes monetary fines child support payments and defaulted student loans 