Any employer who is served with an earnings withholding order shall:
§ 706.104.Duties of Employer Served With Order
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 5. Wage Garnishment · Article 5. Procedure for Earnings Withholding Orders and Exemption Claims · Last amended 2014 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 706.104 requires an employer served with an earnings withholding order to give the employee copies of the order and related forms within 10 days, without civil liability for missing that step, and to mail the completed employer's return to the levying officer within 15 days of service.
Full Text of § 706.104
(a) Deliver to the judgment debtor a copy of the earnings withholding order, the notice to employee of earnings withholding, a copy of the form that the judgment debtor may use to make a claim of exemption, and a copy of the form the judgment debtor may use to provide a financial statement within 10 days from the date of service. If the judgment debtor is no longer employed by the employer and the employer does not owe the employee any earnings, the employer is not required to make such delivery. The employer is not subject to any civil liability for failure to comply with this subdivision. Nothing in this subdivision limits the power of a court to hold the employer in contempt of court for failure to comply with this subdivision.
(b) Complete the employer's return on the form provided by the levying officer and mail it by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the levying officer within 15 days from the date of service. If the earnings withholding order is ineffective, the employer shall state in the employer's return that the order will not be complied with for this reason and shall return the order to the levying officer with the employer's return.
Plain-English Summary
Once served, the employer has two clocks running. Within 10 days, the employer must deliver to the employee a copy of the order itself, the notice to employee of earnings withholding, and blank exemption-claim and financial-statement forms, unless the employee no longer works there and the employer owes no further earnings, in which case that step isn't required at all.
Missing that 10-day delivery doesn't expose the employer to civil liability under this section, though a court can still hold a noncompliant employer in contempt. That distinction matters for employers worried about lawsuits over paperwork mistakes; the real teeth here are contempt, not damages.
The second clock is firmer. Within 15 days of service, the employer must complete and mail the employer's return on the form the levying officer provided. If the order can't be honored, say, because the named employee doesn't work there, the return has to say so, and the order itself goes back with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must an employer give the employee after being served with a wage garnishment order?
Copies of the order, the notice to employee of earnings withholding, and blank exemption-claim and financial-statement forms, within 10 days of service.
Can an employer be sued for missing the 10-day delivery deadline?
No civil liability attaches under § 706.104 for that failure, though a court retains the power to hold a noncompliant employer in contempt.
When must the employer send back the employer's return?
Within 15 days from the date of service, by first-class mail to the levying officer.
What if the order doesn't apply because the person isn't employed there anymore?
The employer states that on the return and sends the order itself back to the levying officer along with it.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2013 ch 64 (SB 233),s 6, eff. 1/1/2014.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: employer duties wage garnishment californiaemployer's return deadline garnishment