The director of the county social services department or the chief administrator of any county operated hospital hereinafter referred to as petitioner, upon alleging in a verified petition, (a) that there was expended for the previous fiscal year in the county where the medical care was rendered, twenty-four percent of the total operating budget for such county, public funds for the hospitalization, medical care and treatment of persons in a sum in excess of twenty-four percent of the total operating budget for such county, (b) that the person or someone for whom he is legally responsible has received medical care, excluding doctor's fees, in a stated amount, (c) that the cost of this care has been paid by the county, (d) that the person is gainfully employed, (e) that the person is indebted to the county for the cost of medical care received, (f) that the name of the person's employer and the approximate amount of the person's average weekly gross wage, and (g) that the county has not been paid for the cost of the medical care rendered, may apply to the court of common pleas or any other court having concurrent jurisdiction in the county where the person is employed, for an order requiring the employer of such person, to withhold from his wages, fees or commissions due or to become due, a sum not to exceed fifteen percent of the average gross weekly wage earned by such person each week, and to pay whatever amount so collected over to the petitioner once a month until the amount found to be due has been paid in full. The order shall not become effective until twenty days after the order has been served on all respondents as hereinafter designated.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 71-145.1; 1964 (53) 2194; 1972 (57) 2382.