When earnings are levied upon, this section must be complied with, in addition to the general provisions specified in section 551.04.
For purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given them:
Execution levies under this section on judgments for child support are effective until the judgments are satisfied if the judgment creditor is a county and the employer is notified by the county when the judgment is satisfied.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or section 518A.53, the priority of multiple earnings execution levies is determined by the order in which the execution levies were served on the employer. If the employer is served with two or more writs of execution at the same time on the same day, the writ of execution issued pursuant to the first judgment entered has priority. If two or more execution levies are served on the same day and are based on judgments entered on the same day, then the employer shall select the priority of the earnings levies. However, in all cases except earnings execution levies on judgments for child support if the judgment creditor is a county and the employer is notified by the county when the judgment is satisfied, the execution levies shall be effective no longer than 90 days from the date of the service of the writ of execution.
Before the first levy on earnings, the attorney for the judgment creditor shall serve upon the judgment debtor no less than ten days before the service of the writ of execution, a notice that the writ of execution may be served on the judgment debtor's employer. The notice must:
The notice requirement of this subdivision does not apply to a levy on earnings being held by an employer pursuant to a garnishment summons served in compliance with chapter 571.
The ten-day notice informing a judgment debtor that a writ of execution may be used to levy the earnings of an individual must be substantially in the following form:
STATE OF MINNESOTA | DISTRICT COURT |
COUNTY OF ................................................................................ | ................................................................................ JUDICIAL DISTRICT |
................................................................................ (Judgment Creditor) | |
against | |
EXECUTION EXEMPTION | |
NOTICE AND NOTICE OF | |
................................................................................ (Judgment Debtor) | INTENT TO LEVY ON EARNINGS |
and | WITHIN TEN DAYS |
................................................................................ (Third Party) |
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a levy may be served upon your employer or other third parties, without any further court proceedings or notice to you, ten days or more from the date hereof. Your earnings are completely exempt from execution levy if you are now a recipient of relief based on need, if you have been a recipient of relief within the last six months, or if you have been an inmate of a correctional institution in the last six months.
Relief based on need includes the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Emergency Assistance (EA), Work First Program, Medical Assistance (MA), General Assistance (GA), Emergency General Assistance (EGA), Minnesota Supplemental Aid (MSA), MSA Emergency Assistance (MSA-EA), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Energy Assistance.
If you wish to claim an exemption, you should fill out the appropriate form below, sign it, and send it to the judgment creditor's attorney.
You may wish to contact the attorney for the judgment creditor in order to arrange for a settlement of the debt or contact an attorney to advise you about exemptions or other rights.
PENALTIES
DATED: ................................................................................ | ................................................................................ |
(Attorney for Judgment Creditor) | |
................................................................................ | |
Address | |
................................................................................ | |
Telephone |
JUDGMENT DEBTOR'S EXEMPTION CLAIM NOTICE
I hereby claim that my earnings are exempt from execution because:
......................................... | .................................................... | ............................................... |
Program | Case Number (if known) | County |
................................................................................ | ................................................................................ | ................................................................................ |
Program | Case Number (if known) | County |
................................................................................ | ................................................................................ |
Correctional Institution | Location |
I hereby authorize any agency that has distributed relief to me or any correctional institution in which I was an inmate to disclose to the above-named judgment creditor or the judgment creditor's attorney only whether or not I am or have been a recipient of relief based on need or an inmate of a correctional institution within the last six months. I have mailed or delivered a copy of this form to the creditor or creditor's attorney.
DATE: ................................................................................ | ................................................................................ |
Judgment Debtor | |
................................................................................ | |
Address |
If the execution levy has not been served within one year after service of the exemption notice, the judgment creditor's attorney shall serve another notice upon the judgment debtor before serving the execution levy on the judgment debtor's employer. If more than one year has passed since the service of the judgment creditor's most recent execution levy, the judgment creditor shall, no less than ten days before service of a subsequent execution levy, serve notice that another execution levy may be served.
If no statement of exemption is received by the attorney for the judgment creditor on an earnings levy within ten days from the service of the notice, the attorney for the judgment creditor may proceed with the execution levy. Failure of the judgment debtor to serve a statement does not constitute a waiver of any right the judgment debtor may have to an exemption. If the statement of exemption is received by the attorney for the judgment creditor, the attorney may still cause a levy to be served subject to sanctions provided in section 551.05, subdivision 8.
The attorney for the judgment creditor shall serve upon the judgment debtor's employer a notice of levy on earnings and an execution earnings disclosure form and an earnings disclosure worksheet with the writ of execution, that must be substantially in the form set forth below.
STATE OF MINNESOTA | DISTRICT COURT |
COUNTY OF ................................................................................ | ................................................................................ JUDICIAL DISTRICT |
FILE NO. ................................................................................ | |
................................................................................ (Judgment Creditor) | |
against | NOTICE OF LEVY ON |
EARNINGS AND DISCLOSURE | |
................................................................................ (Judgment Debtor) | |
and | |
................................................................................ (Third Party) |
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, sections 551.04 and 551.06, the undersigned, as attorney for the judgment creditor, hereby makes demand and levies execution upon all earnings due and owing by you (up to $10,000) to the judgment debtor for the amount of the judgment specified below. A copy of the writ of execution issued by the court is enclosed. The unpaid judgment balance is $.....
This levy attaches all unpaid nonexempt disposable earnings owing or to be owed by you and earned or to be earned by the judgment debtor before and within the pay period in which the writ of execution is served and within all subsequent pay periods whose paydays occur within the 90 days after the service of this levy.
In responding to this levy, you are to complete the attached disclosure form and worksheet and mail it to the undersigned attorney for the judgment creditor, together with your check payable to the above-named judgment creditor, for the nonexempt amount owed by you to the judgment debtor or for which you are obligated to the judgment debtor, within the time limits set forth in the aforementioned statutes.
........................................................................................................................................ |
Attorney for the Judgment Creditor |
........................................................................................................................................ |
........................................................................................................................................ |
........................................................................................................................................ |
Address |
(...) ........................................................................................................................................ |
Phone Number |
DISCLOSURE
DEFINITIONS
"EARNINGS": For the purpose of execution, "earnings" means compensation paid or payable to an employee for personal services or compensation paid or payable to the producer for the sale of agricultural products; milk or milk products; or fruit or other horticultural products produced when the producer is operating a family farm, a family farm corporation, or an authorized farm corporation, as defined in section 500.24, subdivision 2, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement.
"DISPOSABLE EARNINGS": Means that part of the earnings of an individual remaining after the deduction from those earnings of amounts required by law to be withheld. (Amounts required by law to be withheld do not include items such as health insurance, charitable contributions, or other voluntary wage deductions.)
"PAYDAY": For the purpose of execution, "payday(s)" means the date(s) upon which the employer pays earnings to the judgment debtor in the ordinary course of business. If the judgment debtor has no regular payday, payday(s) means the 15th and the last day of each month.
THE THIRD PARTY/EMPLOYER MUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
Yes ..... | No ..... |
Yes ..... | No ..... |
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE EARNINGS DISCLOSURE
For each payday that falls within 90 days from the date the execution levy was served on you, YOU MUST calculate the amount of earnings to be retained by completing steps 3 through 11 on page 2, and enter the amounts on the Earnings Disclosure Worksheet. UPON REQUEST, THE EMPLOYER MUST PROVIDE THE DEBTOR WITH INFORMATION AS TO HOW THE CALCULATIONS REQUIRED BY THIS DISCLOSURE WERE MADE.
Each payday, you must retain the amount of earnings listed in column I on the Earnings Disclosure Worksheet.
You must pay the attached earnings and return this Earnings Disclosure Form and the Earnings Disclosure Worksheet to the judgment creditor's attorney and deliver a copy to the judgment debtor within ten days after the last payday that falls within the 90-day period.
If the judgment is wholly satisfied or if the judgment debtor's employment ends before the expiration of the 90-day period, your disclosure and remittance should be made within ten days after the last payday for which earnings were attached.
For steps 3 through 11, "columns" refers to columns on the Earnings Disclosure Worksheet.
3. | COLUMN A. | Enter the date of judgment debtor's payday. |
4. | COLUMN B. | Enter judgment debtor's gross earnings for each payday. |
5. | COLUMN C. | Enter judgment debtor's disposable earnings for each payday. |
6. | COLUMN D. | Enter 25 percent of disposable earnings. (Multiply Column C by .25.) |
7. | COLUMN E. | Enter here the greater of 40 times $9.50 or 40 times the hourly federal minimum wage ($.......) times the number of work weeks included in each payday. (Note: If a pay period includes days in excess of whole work weeks, the additional days should be counted as a fraction of a work week equal to the number of workdays in excess of a whole work week divided by the number of workdays in a normal work week.) |
8. | COLUMN F. | Subtract the amount in Column E from the amount in Column C, and enter here. |
9. | COLUMN G. | Enter here the lesser of the amount in Column D and the amount in Column F. |
10. | COLUMN H. | Enter here any amount claimed by you as a setoff, defense, lien, or claim, or any amount claimed by any other person as an exemption or adverse interest which would reduce the amount of earnings owing to the judgment debtor. (Note: Any indebtedness to you incurred within ten days prior to your receipt of the first execution levy on a debt may not be set off against the earnings otherwise subject to this levy. Any wage assignment made by the judgment debtor within ten days prior to your receipt of the first execution levy on a debt is void.) |
You must also describe your claim(s) and the claims of others, if known, in the space provided below the worksheet and state the name(s) and address(es) of these persons. | ||
Enter zero in Column H if there are no claims by you or others which would reduce the amount of earnings owing to the judgment debtor. | ||
11. | COLUMN I. | Subtract the amount in Column H from the amount in Column G and enter here. This is the amount of earnings that you must retain for the payday for which the calculations were made. The total of all amounts entered in Column I is the amount to be remitted to the attorney for the judgment creditor. |
AFFIRMATION
I, ................... (person signing Affirmation), am the third party/employer or I am authorized by the third party/employer to complete this earnings disclosure, and have done so truthfully and to the best of my knowledge.
Dated: .................................................................................. | ...................................................................... |
Signature | |
.......................................................................................... | |
Title | |
.......................................................................................... | |
Telephone Number |
EARNINGS DISCLOSURE WORKSHEET
...................
Judgment Debtor's Name
A | B | C | |
Payday Date | Gross Earnings | Disposable Earnings | |
1. | ............................................................. | $ ............................................................. | $ ............................................................. |
2. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. |
3. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. |
4. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. |
5. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. |
6. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. |
7. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. |
8. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. |
9. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. |
10. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. | ............................................................. |
D | E | F | |
25% of Column C | Greater of 40 X $9.50 or 40 X Fed. Min. Wage | Column C minus Column E | |
1. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
2. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
3. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
4. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
5. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
6. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
7. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
8. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
9. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
10. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
G | H | I | |
Lesser of Column D and Column F | Setoff, Lien, Adverse Interest, or Other Claims | Column G minus Column H | |
1. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
2. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
3. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
4. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
5. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
6. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
7. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
8. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
9. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
10. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
TOTAL OF COLUMN I | $ ........................................................................... |
*If you entered any amount in Column H for any payday(s), you must describe below either your claims, or the claims of others. For amounts claimed by others, you must both state the names and addresses of these persons, and the nature of their claim, if known.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
AFFIRMATION
I, ................. (person signing Affirmation), am the third party or I am authorized by the third party to complete this earnings disclosure worksheet, and have done so truthfully and to the best of my knowledge.
........................................................................... | ||
Title | ||
Dated: ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | (...) ........................................................................... |
Signature | Phone Number |
The attorney for the judgment creditor shall serve upon the judgment debtor's employer a notice of levy on earnings and an execution earnings disclosure form and an earnings disclosure worksheet with the writ of execution, that must be substantially in the form set forth below.
STATE OF MINNESOTA | DISTRICT COURT |
COUNTY OF .................................................................................................... | .................................................................................................... JUDICIAL DISTRICT |
FILE NO. .................................................................................................... | |
................................................................................................... (Judgment Creditor) | |
against | NOTICE OF LEVY ON |
EARNINGS AND DISCLOSURE | |
.................................................................................................... (Judgment Debtor) | |
and | |
.................................................................................................... (Third Party) |
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, sections 551.04 and 551.06, the undersigned, as attorney for the judgment creditor, hereby makes demand and levies execution upon all earnings due and owing by you (up to $10,000) to the judgment debtor for the amount of the judgment specified below. A copy of the writ of execution issued by the court is enclosed. The unpaid judgment balance is $.....
This levy attaches all unpaid nonexempt disposable earnings owing or to be owed by you and earned or to be earned by the judgment debtor before and within the pay period in which the writ of execution is served and within all subsequent pay periods whose paydays occur within the 70 days after the service of this levy.
In responding to this levy, you are to complete the attached disclosure form and worksheet and mail it to the undersigned attorney for the judgment creditor, together with your check payable to the above-named judgment creditor, for the nonexempt amount owed by you to the judgment debtor or for which you are obligated to the judgment debtor, within the time limits set forth in the aforementioned statutes.
............................................................................................................................. |
Attorney for the Judgment Creditor |
............................................................................................................................. |
............................................................................................................................. |
............................................................................................................................. |
Address |
(...) ............................................................................................................................. |
Phone Number |
DISCLOSURE
DEFINITIONS
"EARNINGS": For the purpose of execution, "earnings" means compensation paid or payable to an employee for personal services or compensation paid or payable to the producer for the sale of agricultural products; milk or milk products; or fruit or other horticultural products produced when the producer is operating a family farm, a family farm corporation, or an authorized farm corporation, as defined in section 500.24, subdivision 2, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement, workers' compensation, or unemployment benefits.
"DISPOSABLE EARNINGS": Means that part of the earnings of an individual remaining after the deduction from those earnings of amounts required by law to be withheld. (Amounts required by law to be withheld do not include items such as health insurance, charitable contributions, or other voluntary wage deductions.)
"PAYDAY": For the purpose of execution, "payday(s)" means the date(s) upon which the employer pays earnings to the debtor in the ordinary course of business. If the judgment debtor has no regular payday, payday(s) means the 15th and the last day of each month.
THE THIRD PARTY/EMPLOYER MUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:
Yes ..... | No ..... |
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE EARNINGS DISCLOSURE
For each payday that falls within 70 days from the date the execution levy was served on you, YOU MUST calculate the amount of earnings to be retained by completing steps 2 through 8 on page 2, and enter the amounts on the Earnings Disclosure Worksheet. UPON REQUEST, THE EMPLOYER MUST PROVIDE THE DEBTOR WITH INFORMATION AS TO HOW THE CALCULATIONS REQUIRED BY THIS DISCLOSURE WERE MADE.
Each payday, you must retain the amount of earnings listed in column G on the Earnings Disclosure Worksheet.
You must pay the attached earnings and return this earnings disclosure form and the Earnings Disclosure Worksheet to the judgment creditor's attorney and deliver a copy of the disclosure and worksheet to the judgment debtor within ten days after the last payday that falls within the 70-day period. If the judgment is wholly satisfied or if the judgment debtor's employment ends before the expiration of the 70-day period, your disclosure and remittance should be made within ten days after the last payday for which earnings were attached.
For steps 2 through 8, "columns" refers to columns on the Earnings Disclosure Worksheet.
You must also describe your claim(s) and the claims of others, if known, in the space provided below the worksheet and state the name(s) and address(es) of these persons.
Enter zero in column E if there are no claims by you or others that would reduce the amount of earnings owing to the judgment debtor.
AFFIRMATION
I, ................... (person signing Affirmation), am the third party/employer or I am authorized by the third party/employer to complete this earnings disclosure, and have done so truthfully and to the best of my knowledge.
DATED: ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
Signature | |
........................................................................... | |
Title | |
........................................................................... | |
Telephone Number | |
EARNINGS DISCLOSURE WORKSHEET | ........................................................................... |
Debtor's Name |
A | B | C | |
Payday Date | Gross Earnings | Disposable Earnings | |
1. | ........................................................................... | $ ........................................................................... | $ ........................................................................... |
2. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
3. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
4. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
5. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
6. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
7. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
8. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
9. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
10. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
D | E | F | |
Either 50, 55, 60, or 65% of Column C | Setoff, Lien, Adverse Interest, or Other Claims | Column D minus Column E | |
1. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
2. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
3. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
4. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
5. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
6. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
7. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
8. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
9. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
10. | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... |
TOTAL OF COLUMN F | $ ........................................................................... |
*If you entered any amount in column E for any payday(s), you must describe below either your claims, or the claims of others. For amounts claimed by others, you must both state the names and addresses of such persons, and the nature of their claim, if known.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
AFFIRMATION
I, ................. (person signing Affirmation), am the third party or I am authorized by the third party to complete this earnings disclosure worksheet, and have done so truthfully and to the best of my knowledge.
........................................................................... | ||
Signature | ||
Dated: ........................................................................... | ........................................................................... | (...) ........................................................................... |
Title | Phone Number |
The attorney for the judgment creditor shall serve by mail upon the judgment debtor not later than five days after service is made on the judgment debtor's employer, a copy of the writ of execution and copies of all other papers served on the judgment debtor's employer.
If there are no attachable earnings, the third party shall serve the execution earnings disclosure form upon the attorney for the judgment creditor within 20 days after service of the writ of execution. However, if the judgment debtor has attachable earnings, the third party shall serve the execution earnings disclosure form upon both the attorney for the judgment creditor and the judgment debtor and remit to the attorney for the judgment creditor the attached earnings within ten days of the last payday to occur within the 90 days after the date of the service of the writ of execution. If the judgment is wholly satisfied or if the judgment debtor's employment ends before the expiration of the 90-day period, the disclosure and remittance should be made within ten days after the last payday for which earnings were attached. The amount of the third party's execution earnings disclosure form and remittance need not exceed 100 percent of the amount of the judgment creditor's judgment that remains unpaid, after subtracting the total of setoffs, defenses, exemption, or other adverse interests. If the disclosure is by a corporation, it shall be made by an officer or an authorized agent having knowledge of the facts.
The salary or earnings of any public employee or officer may be levied upon pursuant to this chapter. Where the person is an officer, the writ shall be served upon the auditor, treasurer, or clerk of the subdivision or department of which the person is an officer. Where the person is an employee other than an officer, the writ must be served upon the person in charge of the office or department in which the employee works.
When payment has been made pursuant to levy, a copy of the execution with certificate of satisfaction shall be delivered to the treasurer as a voucher for such payment.
Minn. Stat. § 551.06
1990 c 606 art 2 s 6; 1991 c 156 s 17, 18; 1993 c 156 s 10-12; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1997 c 203 art 6 s 92; 1999 c 107 s 66; 1999 c 159 s 145; 2000 c 343 s 4; 2000 c 405 s 15, 16; 2005 c 164 s 29; 1Sp2005 c 7 s 28; 2015 c 21 art 1 s 109