Ohio Wage Garnishment: Ohio Child Support Garnishment

Ohio wage garnishment for child support begins when a noncustodial parent is assigned a withholding order by a court or administrative agency. As in other states, the noncustodial parent’s employer is responsible for enforcing wage garnishment on the noncustodial parent’s wages until the order is terminated. However, Ohio’s wage garnishment laws are particular when it comes to making payments. It is important that the employer make timely payments to the agency, as well as understand that the form of payment differs according to how many employees the employer has. The following information on Ohio wage garnishment provides a more detailed explanation of these concepts.

Ohio Child Support Collection

After custody proceedings in Ohio, a support order will generally be assigned to the noncustodial parent. A support order can be issued by an administrative agency or court of Ohio, and is binding on the noncustodial parent until and unless the issuing agency or court terminates it.

Who Withholds the Money

A noncustodial parent’s “payor” withholds payment from the wages of the noncustodial parent. In Ohio, a “payor” is defined as a person or entity that distributes income to an employee. This includes a person or entity paying workers’ compensation benefits to the employee, or the administrator of any retirement system, including, for example: the board of trustees of the Ohio police and firemen’s pension fund, the state teachers’ retirement board, the public employees’ retirement board, the school employees’ retirement board, the state highway patrol retirement board, or any other person or entity paying out a form of income to an employee or former employee. Note: the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is not considered a payor as to the payment of unemployment compensation, and thus will not withhold, pursuant to a support order, money from any unemployment payments.

When is Money Withheld

An employer should begin withholding for a support payment no later than fourteen business days after the date on the support order. If the employer is not sure how much to withhold per pay period, they should multiply the monthly amount due on the support order by twelve, and then divide the number of pay periods per year into this number. The employer must deduct and remit every pay period, and should not accumulate payments to remit on a monthly basis. The support payment is due to the agency within seven days of the employee’s payday.

The employer can remit payment either by check or by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) in the Cash Concentration and Disbursement (CCD+) format or the Corporate Trade Exchange (CTX) format. If paying by check, the employer can combine payments for all employees subject to support orders into one payment, as long as they identify the amount due from each employee. The employer should also include each employee’s Social Security number, the 10-digit SETS case number (which begins with a 7), the order number, and the date withheld. Checks can be sent to the Ohio Child Support Payment Central. Employers with fifty or more employees must remit payment by EFT.

Out-of-State Orders

Ohio has adopted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA). The UIFSA mandates that an employer enforce an out-of-state order if served with one. Employers must follow the laws of the issuing state on matters such as the duration of the order, the amount to withhold, and where to send the payment. Conversely, employers should follow the laws of the state where the employee works to determine withholding limits, how disposable earnings are defined, how to allocate payments when there are not enough disposable earnings available, and when to begin and remit payment.