2013 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 46b - Family Law
Chapter 816 - Support
Section 46b-213w - Duties of employer re income withholding order issued in another state. Notice and claim form distributed by Department of Social Services. Contents of form. Multiple income withholding orders. Penalty for noncompliance. Contest by obligor.

(a) An income withholding order issued in another state may be sent by or on behalf of the obligee, or by the support enforcement agency, to the person defined as the obligor’s employer under section 52-362 without first filing a petition or comparable pleading or registering the order in the registry of support orders of the Family Support Magistrate Division.

(b) Upon receipt of an income withholding order issued in another state, the obligor’s employer shall immediately provide to the obligor (1) a copy of the order, and (2) a copy of the notice and claim form provided by the Department of Social Services pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.

(c) The Department of Social Services shall make available to all employers in this state a standard notice and claim form, written in clear and simple language, which shall include:

(1) Notice that money will be withheld from the employee’s wages for child support and health insurance;

(2) Notice of the amount of disposable earnings that are exempt from the income withholding order;

(3) Notice that the amount of the income withholding order may not exceed the maximum permitted by federal law under Section 1673 of Title 15 of the United States Code, together with a statement of the obligor’s right to claim any other applicable state or federal exemptions;

(4) Notice of the right to object to the validity or enforcement of such income withholding order in a court in this state and of the right to seek modification of the underlying support order in the court of continuing exclusive jurisdiction;

(5) Notice of the right to seek the assistance of the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement of the Department of Social Services and the toll-free telephone number at which the bureau can be contacted;

(6) A claim form which shall include (A) a list of the most common defenses and exemptions to such income withholding order in a manner which allows the obligor to check any of the defenses and exemptions which apply; (B) a space where the obligor may briefly explain the obligor’s claim or defense; (C) a space where the obligor may initiate a request for services to modify the support order, and the address of the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement of the Department of Social Services to which such request may be sent; (D) a space for the obligor to provide the obligor’s address and the name of the town in which the obligor principally conducts the obligor’s work for the employer; (E) a space for the obligor to sign the obligor’s name; (F) the address of Support Enforcement Services to which the claim form is to be sent in order to contest the validity or enforcement of the income withholding order; and (G) space for the employer to state the date upon which the form was actually delivered to the obligor.

(d) The employer shall treat an income withholding order issued in another state which appears regular on its face as if it had been issued by a tribunal of this state.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (f), (g) and (l) of this section, the employer shall withhold and distribute the funds as directed in the withholding order by complying with terms of the order which specify: (1) The duration and amount of periodic payments of current child support, stated as a sum certain; (2) the person designated to receive payments and the address to which the payments are to be forwarded; (3) medical support, whether in the form of periodic cash payment, stated as a sum certain, or ordering the obligor to provide health insurance coverage for the child under a policy available through the obligor’s employment, subject to the provisions of subsection (e) of section 38a-497a; (4) the amount of periodic payments of fees and costs for a support enforcement agency, the issuing tribunal and the obligee’s attorney, stated as sums certain; and (5) the amount of periodic payments of arrearages and interest on arrearages, stated as sums certain.

(f) The employer shall comply with the law of this state for withholding from income with respect to: (1) The prohibition against an employer’s fee for processing an income withholding order; (2) the maximum amount permitted to be withheld from the obligor’s income; and (3) the time period within which the employer must implement the withholding order and forward the child support payment.

(g) If an employer receives two or more income withholding orders with respect to the earnings of the same obligor, the employer satisfies the terms of such orders if the employer complies with the law of this state to establish the priorities for withholding and allocating income withheld for two or more child support obligees.

(h) An employer who complies with an income withholding order issued in another state in accordance with this section shall be immune from civil liability with regard to the employer’s withholding of child support from the obligor’s income.

(i) An employer who wilfully fails to comply with an income withholding order issued by another state and received for enforcement is subject to the same penalties that may be imposed for noncompliance with an order issued by a tribunal of this state.

(j) An obligor may contest the validity or enforcement of an income withholding order issued in another state and received directly by an employer in this state by: (1) Registering the order in accordance with section 46b-213h and filing a contest to that order as provided in section 46b-213l notwithstanding the obligor is the registering party; (2) otherwise contesting the order in the same manner as if the order had been issued by a tribunal of this state; or (3) mailing to Support Enforcement Services the claim form delivered to the obligor pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, signed by the obligor and containing the obligor’s address and a copy of the income withholding order.

(k) Upon receipt of a claim form contesting the validity or enforcement of an income withholding order, Support Enforcement Services shall: (1) Give notice of the contest to (A) the support enforcement agency providing services to the obligee; (B) each employer that has directly received an income withholding order relating to the obligor; (C) the person designated to receive payments in the income withholding order; and (D) if the obligee’s address is known, the obligee; (2) file the claim form and a copy of the income withholding order on behalf of the obligor with the Family Support Magistrate Division; and (3) notify the person or agency that sent the income withholding order to file not less than ten days before the scheduled hearing: (A) Two copies, including one certified copy of the underlying support order, including any modification of such order; and (B) a sworn statement showing the amount of any arrearage together with the last court determination of an arrearage and an accounting of the arrearage since such determination.

(l) Upon receipt of a claim form filed by Support Enforcement Services on behalf of the obligor in accordance with subsection (k) of this section, the clerk shall promptly enter the appearance of the obligor, schedule a hearing, and give notice of the hearing to the obligor, Support Enforcement Services, the party initiating the income withholding order, and, if the obligee’s address is known, the obligee. The family support magistrate shall promptly hear and determine the claim and enter the family support magistrate’s determination within forty-five days from the date of the filing of the claim form. The family support magistrate shall utilize the procedures set forth in sections 46b-213a to 46b-213c, inclusive, to obtain additional evidence and information as needed for a prompt determination on the claim. If the person or agency that sent the income withholding order fails to file the documents described in subdivision (3) of subsection (k) of this section or fails to comply with a reasonable request for information or documents made under section 46b-213b or 46b-213c, the family support magistrate may: (1) Continue the hearing for a period of not more than an additional forty-five days and direct Support Enforcement Services to provide such notice as may be appropriate; (2) order a temporary or partial stay of income withholding for a period not to exceed forty-five days; or (3) sustain the obligor’s objection to the validity or enforcement of the income withholding order and enjoin the employer from complying with such order. In addition to any notice given by the clerk, upon entry of the decision of the family support magistrate on the claim, Support Enforcement Services shall give notice of the decision to each employer that has directly received an income withholding order related to the obligor, the party initiating the income withholding order, the obligor and, if the obligee’s address is known, the obligee.

(m) If the claim form requests services to modify the support order, the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement shall assist the obligor to file a motion for modification with the appropriate tribunal of the state of continuing exclusive jurisdiction in accordance with the law of that jurisdiction. The receipt of the request for modification shall constitute a request for Title IV-D services, but the bureau may require the making of a formal application. Such assistance shall include, but is not limited to, providing the obligor with information about how such a motion is filed, contacting the state of continuing exclusive jurisdiction on behalf of the obligor to obtain appropriate forms, and transmitting such forms and applicable information to the appropriate tribunal in such state.

(n) Venue for contested claims under this section shall be the family support magistrate division of the superior court in the judicial district in which the obligor resides, provided (1) if the obligor does not reside in this state, venue shall be in the judicial district in which the obligor principally conducts his work for the employer who is subject to the income withholding order, and (2) if there is an existing action concerning support of the child or children who are the subject of the income withholding order, the claim shall be filed in that action.

(June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-1, S. 73, 75; P.A. 01-207, S. 8, 12; P.A. 07-247, S. 56; P.A. 09-8, S. 15; P.A. 11-219, S. 13.)

History: June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-1 effective January 1, 1998; P.A. 01-207 amended Subsec. (c)(2) to require department to distribute notice of the amount of disposable earnings that are exempt from the income withholding order in lieu of former notice that the first $145 per week of disposable earnings are exempt from such order and amended Subsec. (c)(6) to make technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 07-247 amended Subsec. (a) by providing that income withholding order may be sent “by or on behalf of the obligee, or by the support enforcement agency” and deleting “or entity”, amended Subsec. (c)(5) by making a technical change, amended Subsec. (d) by replacing “valid” with “regular on its face”, amended Subsec. (e) by making a technical change and, in Subdiv. (2), deleting “or agency”, amended Subsec. (g) by replacing “multiple” with “two or more” and making a technical change, amended Subsec. (j) by adding Subdiv. designators (1) to (3) re contesting income withholding order issued in another state, by specifying that obligor must register order and file a contest to that order in accordance with controlling statutes, and by deleting provision re stay of imposition of income withholding order when obligor has filed a timely claim form contesting the validity of such order, amended Subsec. (k) by deleting reference to stay of imposition of income withholding order, by specifying in Subdiv. (2) that bureau shall give notice of contest to each employer “that has directly received an income withholding order relating to the obligor”, by deleting “or agency” in Subdiv. (3), by deleting provision that specified that income withholding order was to be registered by bureau “with the appropriate clerk of the Family Support Magistrate Division”, by requiring bureau to file claim form with “Support Enforcement Services”, by replacing reference to Sec. 52-361 with reference to Sec. 52-362 and by requiring bureau to give notice of decision to each employer “that has directly received an income withholding order related to the obligor”, effective January 1, 2008; P.A. 09-8 made a technical change in Subsec. (d); P.A. 11-219 amended Subsec. (c) to substitute “make available” for “distribute” re notice and claim form, add provision re claim form to include address of bureau to which request may be sent in Subdiv. (6)(C) and delete reference to request for modification in Subdiv. (6)(F), amended Subsec. (e) to add exception re Subsec. (l), amended Subsec. (j) to delete provision re duty of obligor to deliver copy of claim form to employer, redesignated existing Subsec. (k) as Subsecs. (k) and (l), amended redesignated Subsec. (k) to insert new Subdiv. designators, delete provision re seven-day notification to employer of receipt of claim form, delete requirement that bureau cause withholding order to be registered in this state, require filing of copy of income withholding order, delete requirement to file with Support Enforcement Services on behalf of division and add provisions re notice to person or agency that sent withholding order, amended redesignated Subsec. (l) to make provisions applicable upon receipt of claim form filed by Support Enforcement Services on behalf of obligor under Subsec. (k), delete requirement that clerk proceed under Sec. 52-362(d), add requirement that magistrate utilize procedures in Secs. 46b-213a to 46b-213c to obtain evidence and information and add provisions re magistrate action re person who fails to file documents or comply with request for information or documents, redesignated existing Subsecs. (l) and (m) as Subsecs. (m) and (n), and substituted references to Support Enforcement Services for references to Bureau of Child Support Enforcement and made technical and conforming changes throughout.