I have had the child support in Colorado garnish the father's wages for almost 3 years. The employer refuses and I am told that in arapahoe county the magistrate doesn't hold the employer accountable for refusal of the garnishment. Further I am told that if I "blow the whistle" they will drop my case. :mad: What can I do? We are losing our home of 15 years and I can't afford a lawyer to start this all over...

Wait.. there is a federal law now..

I know not in you state but contact https://www.cse.ca.gov/ChildSupport/cse/selfService/participant/notLoggedIn/home/welcome and they WILL find a person in your state to help you. Ot contact you local child support services as tha tis just not right

I have had the child support in colorado garnish the father's wages for almost 3 years. the employer refuses and i am told that in arapahoe county the magistrate doesn't hold the employer accountable for refusal of the garnishment. Further i am told that if i "blow the whistle" they will drop my case. :mad: What can I do? We are loosing our home of 15 years and i can't afford a lawyer to start this all over....



I don't quite understand this - Colorado follows Federal garnishment guidelines. Unless there are other circumstances (father makes below minimum wage, supports other children, falls into an exclusion category) it is not the employer's choice. It is the Law.

What is the Magistrate's reason for refusing to hold the employer accountable?

Who is going to "drop your case?" The child support unit? The Court?

Given support checks are now sent by employers to a state disbursement unit who in turn then sends the support out to the receiving parent and has now for about 3 years, this makes no sense to me at all.

You need to contact the State of Colorado child support enforement office and find out what is going on with your child support. Their website is State of Colorado (http://www.childsupport.state.co.us/do/home/index)

They would be whom I would turn to first


Info from their site:

"Enforcement Remedies
Colorado Child Support Enforcement (CSE) has been given legislative authority to collect current and past due child support through enforcement remedies. These remedies can be in the form of court actions as well as administrative actions. Administrative actions are actions that can be taken without formal court proceedings.



It is the responsibility of the parties to keep CSE updated with current address information so they can be notified about any enforcement action.



Colorado CSE uses the following enforcement remedies:



Income Related Enforcement

Income Assignments Against Employment Wages
New Hire Reporting
Unemployment Compensation Benefits
Worker's Compensation Benefits


Suspensions & Denials

Driver's License Suspension
Professional Occupational License Suspension
Recreational License Suspension
Passport Denial


Intercepts

Federal Tax Offset
Colorado State Revenue Tax Offset
State Vendor Offset
Federal Administrative Payment Offset
Lottery Winnings Intercept
Financial Institution Data Match


Credit Bureau Reporting



Judicial Actions

Judgments
Liens
Contempt
Rule 69's
Garnishments
Federal Prosecution "

Is he actually employed or is he self-employed working as a contractor for the company? That makes a huge difference. You can tell by how his taxes are done whether he works under a W2 or 1099.

Given support checks are now sent by employers to a state disbursement unit who in turn then sends the support out to the receiving parent and has now for about 3 years, this makes no sense to me at all.

You need to contact the State of Colorado child support enforement office and find out what is going on with your child support. Their website is State of Colorado (http://www.childsupport.state.co.us/do/home/index)

They would be whom I would turn to first


Info from their site:"


Posting the site, one paragraph and the table of contents is not helpful. Please cut and paste the portions that are relevant.

I have to ask. Is this person Indian and are you trying to collect from a job he holds on the reservation ? If so then fedral laws won't apply there.
Is he an actual employee or is he a contract worker ? That all makes a difference.

Wow guys, yes he's indian but he is a framer, builds houses. His boss doesn't take taxes out and told him to get a business license but due to child support garnishing his bank account he can't open an account so the paychecks are made out to his name. The IRS and state tax authority are looking for him cause he hasn't paid taxes, he has several hit and runs so can't have a driver's license already.

I am hearing that the magistrate won't garnish cause she doesn't want to and child support enforcement (state) will close my case if I bring attention to the magistrate not going after the employer. I was told that the employer was sent a letter from the district atty (CSE) as a warning earlier this year.

By the way he was on TV this weekend showing him working and building homes for his boss through the habitat for humanity gig... he makes $30 an hour and this is ridiculus.

Yes he is probably a "sub" contractor but CSE informed me the employer still has to honor the garnishment and maybe someday the magistrate will leave the bench or change her mind...

Here is the problem your looking at as I see it. He is a contract laborer which means that they aren't deducting payroll taxes etc from his check. The government can't take the money as a payroll deduction because he's not on the payroll. I know it sounds strange because he's working for him but those laws are different that govern contract labor. What they can do is seize the company's records and make it a not so nice place. They also can seize his funds outright ( its not a deduction it would take his entire pay ) different from gov mandated payroll deduction maximums. Since your using a state agency for collection the best you can do is hope and pray.

Ok if he is a individual contractor then he works under a 1099. Therefore his empoyer isn't actually his employer by tax purposes. That means they are not accountable for his taxes or support when the state contacts the "employer" they can simply say no. If you can prove he is on the payroll as an actually employee then it would be different. I have had many clients ask this type of question.