(a) If an employer fails to withhold or to pay over the amount the employer is required to withhold and pay over pursuant to this chapter, the judgment creditor may bring a civil action against the employer to recover such amount. The remedy provided by this subdivision is not exclusive.
§ 706.154.Civil Action Against Employer For Failure to Pay Required Amount
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 5. Wage Garnishment · Article 7. Administration and Enforcement · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 706.154 lets a judgment creditor sue an employer who fails to withhold or pay over the amounts an earnings withholding order requires, while shielding an employer who complies with an order or notice that appears valid on its face from liability unless the employer actively participated in fraud.
Full Text of § 706.154
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), an employer who complies with any written order or written notice which purports to be given or served in accordance with the provisions of this chapter is not subject to any civil or criminal liability for such compliance unless the employer has actively participated in a fraud.
Plain-English Summary
This section gives creditors their main civil remedy against a noncompliant employer: if the employer fails to withhold or pay over what the order requires, the creditor can sue to recover that amount, and this remedy stands alongside whatever other remedies might apply rather than replacing them.
Subdivision (b) balances that exposure with protection for employers acting in good faith. An employer who complies with a written order or notice that purports to be issued under this chapter isn't civilly or criminally liable for that compliance, even if the order or notice later turns out to have been defective, unless the employer actively participated in a fraud.
Together, the two subdivisions push employers toward compliance rather than second-guessing every document a levying officer or process server hands them: comply with what looks like a valid order and face no liability for it, but ignore or shortchange a valid order and risk a lawsuit for the shortfall.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can a creditor do if an employer just doesn't withhold the required wages?
Sue the employer to recover the amount that should have been withheld and paid over, a remedy that doesn't exclude other remedies the creditor might have.
Is an employer liable for following a garnishment order that turns out to be flawed?
No. Section 706.154(b) protects an employer who complies with a written order or notice that purports to be given under this chapter, unless the employer actively participated in a fraud.
Does this protection cover an employer who knowingly helps someone commit fraud?
No. The safe harbor doesn't apply to an employer who actively participated in the fraud.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1364, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 1364.
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 liability wage garnishment californiasuing employer for not withholding wages