Wage garnishment (also known as wage attachment or wage assignment) is a legal procedure in which a person's earnings are required by court order to be withheld by an employer for the payment of a debt such as child support, spousal or partner support, or a judgment in a civil lawsuit.

Title III of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) prohibits an employer from discharging an employee whose earnings have been subject to garnishment for any one debt, regardless of the number of levies made or proceedings brought to collect it. Title III also limits the amount of an employee’s earnings that may be garnished in any one week. But it does not protect an employee from discharge if the employee's earnings have been subject to garnishment for a second or subsequent debts.

Title III applies to all individuals who receive personal earnings and to their employers. Personal earnings include wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and income from a pension or retirement program, but does not ordinarily include tips.

States also have laws governing wage garnishment, attachment, or assignment, and these laws vary from state to state.

In Pennsylvania, wage garnishment is a legal process where a court orders an employer to withhold a portion of an individual's earnings for the payment of debts such as child support, alimony, or civil lawsuit judgments. Federal law, specifically Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), protects employees from being fired if their wages are garnished for a single debt, but this protection does not extend to multiple debts. The CCPA also sets limits on the percentage of an employee's disposable earnings that can be garnished in any workweek. In Pennsylvania, most garnishments, except for child support, alimony, taxes, and student loans, are limited by state law. For instance, creditors cannot garnish the lesser of 25% of the debtor's disposable earnings or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. However, for child support or alimony, up to 50% to 60% of disposable earnings may be garnished if the debtor is supporting another spouse or child, or 60% to 65% if they are not. It's important to note that Pennsylvania is generally more restrictive than other states in allowing wage garnishment for consumer debts.