Withholding of income, voluntary or court may order, when, wheneffective--hearing, when--employer, duties, liabilities,fee--discharge or discipline of employee because of a withholdingnotice prohibited, penalty--civil contempt proceedingauthorized--amendment, termination and priorities ofwithholdings.
452.350. 1. Until January 1, 1994, except for orders entered ormodified in IV-D cases, each order for child support or maintenance enteredor modified by the court pursuant to the authority of this chapter, orotherwise, shall include a provision notifying the person obligated to paysuch support or maintenance that, upon application by the obligee or theMissouri division of child support enforcement of the department of socialservices, the obligor's wages or other income shall be subject towithholding without further notice if the obligor becomes delinquent inmaintenance or child support payments in an amount equal to one month'stotal support obligation. The order shall also contain provisionsnotifying the obligor that:
(1) The withholding shall be for the current month's maintenance andsupport; and
(2) The withholding shall include an additional amount equal to fiftypercent of one month's child support and maintenance to defray delinquentchild support and maintenance, which additional withholding shall continueuntil the delinquency is paid in full.
2. For all orders entered or modified in IV-D cases, and effectiveJanuary 1, 1994, for every order for child support or maintenance enteredor modified by the court pursuant to the authority of this chapter, orotherwise, income withholding pursuant to this section shall be initiatedon the effective date of the order, except that such withholding shall notcommence with the effective date of the order in any case where:
(1) One of the parties demonstrates, and the court finds, that thereis good cause not to require immediate income withholding. For purposes ofthis subdivision, any finding that there is good cause not to requireimmediate withholding must be based on, at least, a written determinationand an explanation by the court that implementing immediate wagewithholding would not be in the best interests of the child and proof oftimely payments of previously ordered support in cases involving themodification of support orders; or
(2) A written agreement is reached between the parties that providesfor an alternative arrangement.
If the income of an obligor is not withheld as of the effective date of thesupport order, pursuant to subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection, orotherwise, such obligor's income shall become subject to withholdingpursuant to this section without further exception on the date on which theobligor becomes delinquent in maintenance or child support payments in anamount equal to one month's total support obligation. Such withholdingshall be initiated in the manner provided in subsection 4 of this section.All IV-D orders entered or modified by the court shall contain a provisionnotifying the obligor that he or she shall notify the division of childsupport enforcement regarding the availability of medical insurancecoverage through an employer or a group plan, provide the name of theinsurance provider when coverage is available, and inform the division ofany change in access to such insurance coverage. Any income withheldpursuant to this section for a support order initially entered on or afterOctober 1, 1999, shall be paid to the payment center pursuant to section454.530, RSMo. Any order of the court entered on or after October 1, 1999,establishing the withholding for a support order as defined in section454.460, RSMo, or notice from the clerk issued on or after October 1, 1999,pursuant to this section for a support order shall require payment to thepayment center pursuant to section 454.530, RSMo.
3. The provisions of section 432.030, RSMo, to the contrarynotwithstanding, if income withholding has not been initiated on theeffective date of the initial or modified order, the obligated party mayexecute a voluntary income assignment at any time, which assignment shallbe filed with the court and shall take effect after service on the employeror other payor.
4. The circuit clerk, upon application of the obligee or the divisionof child support enforcement, shall send, by certified mail, return receiptrequested, a written notice to the employer or other payor listed on theapplication when the obligated party is subject to withholding pursuant tothe child support order or subsection 2 of this section. For ordersentered or modified in cases known by the circuit clerk to be IV-D cases inwhich income withholding is to be initiated on the effective date of theorder, and effective January 1, 1994, for all orders entered or modified bythe court in which income withholding is to be initiated on the effectivedate of the order, the circuit clerk shall send such notice to the employeror other payor in the manner provided by this section at the time the orderis entered without application of any party when an employer or other payoris identified to the circuit clerk by inclusion in the pleadings pursuantto section 452.312, or otherwise. The notice of income withholding shallbe prepared by the person entitled to support pursuant to the order, or thelegal representative of that person, on a form prescribed by the court, andshall be presented to the clerk of the court at the time the order ofsupport is entered. The notice shall direct the employer or other payor towithhold each month an amount equal to one month's child support andmaintenance until further notice from the court. In the event of adelinquency in child support or maintenance payments in an amount equal toone month's total support obligation, the notice further shall direct theemployer or other payor to withhold each month an additional amount equalto fifty percent of one month's child support and maintenance until thesupport delinquency is paid in full. The notice shall also include astatement of exemptions which may apply to limit the portion of theobligated party's disposable earnings which are subject to the withholdingpursuant to federal or state law and notify the obligor that the obligormay request a hearing and related information pursuant to this section.The notice shall contain the Social Security number of the obligor ifavailable. The circuit clerk shall send a copy of this notice by regularmail to the last known address of the obligated party. A notice issuedpursuant to this section shall be binding on the employer or other payor,and successor employers and payors, two weeks after mailing, and shallcontinue until further order of the court or the division of child supportenforcement. If the notice does not contain the Social Security number ofthe obligor, the employer or other payor shall not be liable forwithholding from the incorrect obligor. The obligated party may, withinthat two-week period, request a hearing on the issue of whether thewithholding should take effect. The withholding shall not be held inabeyance pending the outcome of the hearing. The obligor may not obtainrelief from the withholding by paying overdue support, if any. The onlybasis for contesting the withholding is a mistake of fact. For the purposeof this section, "mistake of fact" shall mean an error in the amount ofarrearages, if applicable, or an error as to the identity of the obligor.The court shall hold its hearing, enter its order disposing of all issuesdisputed by the obligated party, and notify the obligated party and theemployer or other payor, within forty-five days of the date on which thewithholding notice was sent to the employer.
5. For each payment the employer may charge a fee not to exceed sixdollars per month, which shall be deducted from each obligor's moneys,income or periodic earnings, in addition to the amount deducted to meet thesupport or maintenance obligation subject to the limitations contained inthe federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1673).
6. Upon termination of the obligor's employment with an employer uponwhom a withholding notice has been served, the employer shall so notify thecourt in writing. The employer shall also inform the court, in writing, asto the last known address of the obligor and the name and address of theobligor's new employer, if known.
7. Amounts withheld by the employer or other payor shall betransmitted, in accordance with the notice, within seven business days ofthe date that such amounts were payable to the obligated party. Forpurposes of this section, "business day" means a day that state offices areopen for regular business. The employer or other payor shall, along withthe amounts transmitted, provide the date each amount was withheld fromeach obligor. If the employer or other payor is withholding amounts formore than one order, the employer or other payor may combine all suchwithholdings that are payable to the same circuit clerk or the familysupport payment center and transmit them as one payment, together with aseparate list identifying the cases to which they apply. The cases shallbe identified by court case number, name of obligor, the obligor's SocialSecurity number, the IV-D case number, if any, the amount withheld for eachobligor, and the withholding date or dates for each obligor, to the extentthat such information is known to the employer or other payor. An employeror other payor who fails to honor a withholding notice pursuant to thissection may be held in contempt of court and is liable to the obligee forthe amount that should have been withheld. Compliance by an employer orother payor with the withholding notice operates as a discharge ofliability to the obligor as to that portion of the obligor's periodicearnings or other income so affected.
8. As used in this section, the term "employer" includes the stateand its political subdivisions.
9. An employer shall not discharge or otherwise discipline, or refuseto hire, an employee as a result of a withholding notice issued pursuant tothis section. Any obligor who is aggrieved as a result of a violation ofthis subsection may bring a civil contempt proceeding against the employerby filing an appropriate motion in the cause of action from which thewithholding notice issued. If the court finds that the employerdischarged, disciplined, or refused to hire the obligor as a result of thewithholding notice, the court may order the employer to reinstate or hirethe obligor, or rescind any wrongful disciplinary action. If, after theentry of such an order, the employer refuses without good cause to complywith the court's order, or if the employer fails to comply with thewithholding notice, the court may, after notice to the employer and ahearing, impose a fine against the employer, not to exceed five hundreddollars. Proceeds of any such fine shall be distributed by the court tothe county general revenue fund.
10. A withholding entered pursuant to this section may, upon motionof a party and for good cause shown, be amended by the court. The clerkshall notify the employer of the amendment in the manner provided for insubsection 4 of this section.
11. The court, upon the motion of obligor and for good cause shown,may terminate the withholding, except that the withholding shall not beterminated for the sole reason that the obligor has fully paid past duechild support and maintenance.
12. A withholding effected pursuant to this section shall havepriority over any other legal process pursuant to state law against thesame wages, except that where the other legal process is an order issuedpursuant to this section or section 454.505, RSMo, the processes shall runconcurrently, up to applicable wage withholding limitations. Ifconcurrently running wage withholding processes for the collection ofsupport obligations would cause the amounts withheld from the wages of theobligor to exceed applicable wage withholding limitations and includes awage withholding from another state pursuant to section 454.932, RSMo, theemployer shall first satisfy current support obligations by dividing theamount available to be withheld among the orders on a pro rata basis usingthe percentages derived from the relationship each current support orderamount has to the sum of all current child support obligations.Thereafter, delinquencies shall be satisfied using the same pro ratadistribution procedure used for distributing current support, up to theapplicable limitation. If concurrently running wage withholding processesfor the collection of support obligations would cause the amounts withheldfrom the wages of the obligor to exceed applicable wage withholdinglimitations and does not include a wage withholding from another statepursuant to section 454.932, RSMo, the employer shall withhold and pay tothe payment center an amount equal to the wage withholding limitations.The payment center shall first satisfy current support obligations bydividing the amount available to be withheld among the orders on a pro ratabasis using the percentages derived from the relationship each currentsupport order amount has to the sum of all current child supportobligations. Thereafter, arrearages shall be satisfied using the same prorata distribution procedure used for distributing current support, up tothe applicable limitation.
13. The remedy provided by this section applies to child support andmaintenance orders entered prior to August 13, 1986, notwithstanding theabsence of the notice to the obligor provided for in subsection 1 of thissection, provided that prior notice from the circuit clerk to the obligorin the manner prescribed in subsection 5 of section 452.345 is given.
14. Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary,in a case in which support rights have been assigned to the state or inwhich the division of child support enforcement is providing supportenforcement services pursuant to section 454.425, RSMo, the director of thedivision of child support enforcement may amend or terminate a withholdingorder issued pursuant to this section, as provided in this subsectionwithout further action of the court. The director may amend or terminate awithholding order and issue an administrative withholding order pursuant tosection 454.505, RSMo, when the director determines that children for whomthe support order applies are no longer entitled to support pursuant tosection 452.340, when the support obligation otherwise ends and allarrearages are paid, when the support obligation is modified pursuant tosection 454.500, RSMo, or when the director enters an order that isapproved by the court pursuant to section 454.496, RSMo. The directorshall notify the employer and the circuit clerk of such amendment ortermination. The director's administrative withholding order orwithholding termination order shall preempt and supersede any previousjudicial withholding order issued pursuant to this or any other section.
15. For the purpose of this section, "income" means any periodic formof payment due to an individual, regardless of source, including wages,salaries, commissions, bonuses, workers' compensation benefits, disabilitybenefits, payments pursuant to a pension or a retirement program andinterest.
16. If the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Servicespromulgates a final standard format for an employer income withholdingnotice, the court shall use or require the use of such notice.
(1980) Statute providing specifically for assignment of future wages upon order of court for purposes of enforcing order for maintenance created an exception to § 432.030 prohibiting the assignment of future wages. Brinley v. Karnes (A.), 595 W.W.2d 465.
Withholding of income, voluntary or court may order, when, wheneffective--hearing, when--employer, duties, liabilities,fee--discharge or discipline of employee because of a withholdingnotice prohibited, penalty--civil contempt proceedingauthorized--amendment, termination and priorities ofwithholdings.
452.350. 1. Until January 1, 1994, except for orders entered ormodified in IV-D cases, each order for child support or maintenance enteredor modified by the court pursuant to the authority of this chapter, orotherwise, shall include a provision notifying the person obligated to paysuch support or maintenance that, upon application by the obligee or theMissouri division of child support enforcement of the department of socialservices, the obligor's wages or other income shall be subject towithholding without further notice if the obligor becomes delinquent inmaintenance or child support payments in an amount equal to one month'stotal support obligation. The order shall also contain provisionsnotifying the obligor that:
(1) The withholding shall be for the current month's maintenance andsupport; and
(2) The withholding shall include an additional amount equal to fiftypercent of one month's child support and maintenance to defray delinquentchild support and maintenance, which additional withholding shall continueuntil the delinquency is paid in full.
2. For all orders entered or modified in IV-D cases, and effectiveJanuary 1, 1994, for every order for child support or maintenance enteredor modified by the court pursuant to the authority of this chapter, orotherwise, income withholding pursuant to this section shall be initiatedon the effective date of the order, except that such withholding shall notcommence with the effective date of the order in any case where:
(1) One of the parties demonstrates, and the court finds, that thereis good cause not to require immediate income withholding. For purposes ofthis subdivision, any finding that there is good cause not to requireimmediate withholding must be based on, at least, a written determinationand an explanation by the court that implementing immediate wagewithholding would not be in the best interests of the child and proof oftimely payments of previously ordered support in cases involving themodification of support orders; or
(2) A written agreement is reached between the parties that providesfor an alternative arrangement.
If the income of an obligor is not withheld as of the effective date of thesupport order, pursuant to subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection, orotherwise, such obligor's income shall become subject to withholdingpursuant to this section without further exception on the date on which theobligor becomes delinquent in maintenance or child support payments in anamount equal to one month's total support obligation. Such withholdingshall be initiated in the manner provided in subsection 4 of this section.All IV-D orders entered or modified by the court shall contain a provisionnotifying the obligor that he or she shall notify the division of childsupport enforcement regarding the availability of medical insurancecoverage through an employer or a group plan, provide the name of theinsurance provider when coverage is available, and inform the division ofany change in access to such insurance coverage. Any income withheldpursuant to this section for a support order initially entered on or afterOctober 1, 1999, shall be paid to the payment center pursuant to section454.530, RSMo. Any order of the court entered on or after October 1, 1999,establishing the withholding for a support order as defined in section454.460, RSMo, or notice from the clerk issued on or after October 1, 1999,pursuant to this section for a support order shall require payment to thepayment center pursuant to section 454.530, RSMo.
3. The provisions of section 432.030, RSMo, to the contrarynotwithstanding, if income withholding has not been initiated on theeffective date of the initial or modified order, the obligated party mayexecute a voluntary income assignment at any time, which assignment shallbe filed with the court and shall take effect after service on the employeror other payor.
4. The circuit clerk, upon application of the obligee or the divisionof child support enforcement, shall send, by certified mail, return receiptrequested, a written notice to the employer or other payor listed on theapplication when the obligated party is subject to withholding pursuant tothe child support order or subsection 2 of this section. For ordersentered or modified in cases known by the circuit clerk to be IV-D cases inwhich income withholding is to be initiated on the effective date of theorder, and effective January 1, 1994, for all orders entered or modified bythe court in which income withholding is to be initiated on the effectivedate of the order, the circuit clerk shall send such notice to the employeror other payor in the manner provided by this section at the time the orderis entered without application of any party when an employer or other payoris identified to the circuit clerk by inclusion in the pleadings pursuantto section 452.312, or otherwise. The notice of income withholding shallbe prepared by the person entitled to support pursuant to the order, or thelegal representative of that person, on a form prescribed by the court, andshall be presented to the clerk of the court at the time the order ofsupport is entered. The notice shall direct the employer or other payor towithhold each month an amount equal to one month's child support andmaintenance until further notice from the court. In the event of adelinquency in child support or maintenance payments in an amount equal toone month's total support obligation, the notice further shall direct theemployer or other payor to withhold each month an additional amount equalto fifty percent of one month's child support and maintenance until thesupport delinquency is paid in full. The notice shall also include astatement of exemptions which may apply to limit the portion of theobligated party's disposable earnings which are subject to the withholdingpursuant to federal or state law and notify the obligor that the obligormay request a hearing and related information pursuant to this section.The notice shall contain the Social Security number of the obligor ifavailable. The circuit clerk shall send a copy of this notice by regularmail to the last known address of the obligated party. A notice issuedpursuant to this section shall be binding on the employer or other payor,and successor employers and payors, two weeks after mailing, and shallcontinue until further order of the court or the division of child supportenforcement. If the notice does not contain the Social Security number ofthe obligor, the employer or other payor shall not be liable forwithholding from the incorrect obligor. The obligated party may, withinthat two-week period, request a hearing on the issue of whether thewithholding should take effect. The withholding shall not be held inabeyance pending the outcome of the hearing. The obligor may not obtainrelief from the withholding by paying overdue support, if any. The onlybasis for contesting the withholding is a mistake of fact. For the purposeof this section, "mistake of fact" shall mean an error in the amount ofarrearages, if applicable, or an error as to the identity of the obligor.The court shall hold its hearing, enter its order disposing of all issuesdisputed by the obligated party, and notify the obligated party and theemployer or other payor, within forty-five days of the date on which thewithholding notice was sent to the employer.
5. For each payment the employer may charge a fee not to exceed sixdollars per month, which shall be deducted from each obligor's moneys,income or periodic earnings, in addition to the amount deducted to meet thesupport or maintenance obligation subject to the limitations contained inthe federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1673).
6. Upon termination of the obligor's employment with an employer uponwhom a withholding notice has been served, the employer shall so notify thecourt in writing. The employer shall also inform the court, in writing, asto the last known address of the obligor and the name and address of theobligor's new employer, if known.
7. Amounts withheld by the employer or other payor shall betransmitted, in accordance with the notice, within seven business days ofthe date that such amounts were payable to the obligated party. Forpurposes of this section, "business day" means a day that state offices areopen for regular business. The employer or other payor shall, along withthe amounts transmitted, provide the date each amount was withheld fromeach obligor. If the employer or other payor is withholding amounts formore than one order, the employer or other payor may combine all suchwithholdings that are payable to the same circuit clerk or the familysupport payment center and transmit them as one payment, together with aseparate list identifying the cases to which they apply. The cases shallbe identified by court case number, name of obligor, the obligor's SocialSecurity number, the IV-D case number, if any, the amount withheld for eachobligor, and the withholding date or dates for each obligor, to the extentthat such information is known to the employer or other payor. An employeror other payor who fails to honor a withholding notice pursuant to thissection may be held in contempt of court and is liable to the obligee forthe amount that should have been withheld. Compliance by an employer orother payor with the withholding notice operates as a discharge ofliability to the obligor as to that portion of the obligor's periodicearnings or other income so affected.
8. As used in this section, the term "employer" includes the stateand its political subdivisions.
9. An employer shall not discharge or otherwise discipline, or refuseto hire, an employee as a result of a withholding notice issued pursuant tothis section. Any obligor who is aggrieved as a result of a violation ofthis subsection may bring a civil contempt proceeding against the employerby filing an appropriate motion in the cause of action from which thewithholding notice issued. If the court finds that the employerdischarged, disciplined, or refused to hire the obligor as a result of thewithholding notice, the court may order the employer to reinstate or hirethe obligor, or rescind any wrongful disciplinary action. If, after theentry of such an order, the employer refuses without good cause to complywith the court's order, or if the employer fails to comply with thewithholding notice, the court may, after notice to the employer and ahearing, impose a fine against the employer, not to exceed five hundreddollars. Proceeds of any such fine shall be distributed by the court tothe county general revenue fund.
10. A withholding entered pursuant to this section may, upon motionof a party and for good cause shown, be amended by the court. The clerkshall notify the employer of the amendment in the manner provided for insubsection 4 of this section.
11. The court, upon the motion of obligor and for good cause shown,may terminate the withholding, except that the withholding shall not beterminated for the sole reason that the obligor has fully paid past duechild support and maintenance.
12. A withholding effected pursuant to this section shall havepriority over any other legal process pursuant to state law against thesame wages, except that where the other legal process is an order issuedpursuant to this section or section 454.505, RSMo, the processes shall runconcurrently, up to applicable wage withholding limitations. Ifconcurrently running wage withholding processes for the collection ofsupport obligations would cause the amounts withheld from the wages of theobligor to exceed applicable wage withholding limitations and includes awage withholding from another state pursuant to section 454.932, RSMo, theemployer shall first satisfy current support obligations by dividing theamount available to be withheld among the orders on a pro rata basis usingthe percentages derived from the relationship each current support orderamount has to the sum of all current child support obligations.Thereafter, delinquencies shall be satisfied using the same pro ratadistribution procedure used for distributing current support, up to theapplicable limitation. If concurrently running wage withholding processesfor the collection of support obligations would cause the amounts withheldfrom the wages of the obligor to exceed applicable wage withholdinglimitations and does not include a wage withholding from another statepursuant to section 454.932, RSMo, the employer shall withhold and pay tothe payment center an amount equal to the wage withholding limitations.The payment center shall first satisfy current support obligations bydividing the amount available to be withheld among the orders on a pro ratabasis using the percentages derived from the relationship each currentsupport order amount has to the sum of all current child supportobligations. Thereafter, arrearages shall be satisfied using the same prorata distribution procedure used for distributing current support, up tothe applicable limitation.
13. The remedy provided by this section applies to child support andmaintenance orders entered prior to August 13, 1986, notwithstanding theabsence of the notice to the obligor provided for in subsection 1 of thissection, provided that prior notice from the circuit clerk to the obligorin the manner prescribed in subsection 5 of section 452.345 is given.
14. Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary,in a case in which support rights have been assigned to the state or inwhich the division of child support enforcement is providing supportenforcement services pursuant to section 454.425, RSMo, the director of thedivision of child support enforcement may amend or terminate a withholdingorder issued pursuant to this section, as provided in this subsectionwithout further action of the court. The director may amend or terminate awithholding order and issue an administrative withholding order pursuant tosection 454.505, RSMo, when the director determines that children for whomthe support order applies are no longer entitled to support pursuant tosection 452.340, when the support obligation otherwise ends and allarrearages are paid, when the support obligation is modified pursuant tosection 454.500, RSMo, or when the director enters an order that isapproved by the court pursuant to section 454.496, RSMo. The directorshall notify the employer and the circuit clerk of such amendment ortermination. The director's administrative withholding order orwithholding termination order shall preempt and supersede any previousjudicial withholding order issued pursuant to this or any other section.
15. For the purpose of this section, "income" means any periodic formof payment due to an individual, regardless of source, including wages,salaries, commissions, bonuses, workers' compensation benefits, disabilitybenefits, payments pursuant to a pension or a retirement program andinterest.
16. If the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Servicespromulgates a final standard format for an employer income withholdingnotice, the court shall use or require the use of such notice.
(1980) Statute providing specifically for assignment of future wages upon order of court for purposes of enforcing order for maintenance created an exception to § 432.030 prohibiting the assignment of future wages. Brinley v. Karnes (A.), 595 W.W.2d 465.
Withholding of income, voluntary or court may order, when, wheneffective--hearing, when--employer, duties, liabilities,fee--discharge or discipline of employee because of a withholdingnotice prohibited, penalty--civil contempt proceedingauthorized--amendment, termination and priorities ofwithholdings.
452.350. 1. Until January 1, 1994, except for orders entered ormodified in IV-D cases, each order for child support or maintenance enteredor modified by the court pursuant to the authority of this chapter, orotherwise, shall include a provision notifying the person obligated to paysuch support or maintenance that, upon application by the obligee or theMissouri division of child support enforcement of the department of socialservices, the obligor's wages or other income shall be subject towithholding without further notice if the obligor becomes delinquent inmaintenance or child support payments in an amount equal to one month'stotal support obligation. The order shall also contain provisionsnotifying the obligor that:
(1) The withholding shall be for the current month's maintenance andsupport; and
(2) The withholding shall include an additional amount equal to fiftypercent of one month's child support and maintenance to defray delinquentchild support and maintenance, which additional withholding shall continueuntil the delinquency is paid in full.
2. For all orders entered or modified in IV-D cases, and effectiveJanuary 1, 1994, for every order for child support or maintenance enteredor modified by the court pursuant to the authority of this chapter, orotherwise, income withholding pursuant to this section shall be initiatedon the effective date of the order, except that such withholding shall notcommence with the effective date of the order in any case where:
(1) One of the parties demonstrates, and the court finds, that thereis good cause not to require immediate income withholding. For purposes ofthis subdivision, any finding that there is good cause not to requireimmediate withholding must be based on, at least, a written determinationand an explanation by the court that implementing immediate wagewithholding would not be in the best interests of the child and proof oftimely payments of previously ordered support in cases involving themodification of support orders; or
(2) A written agreement is reached between the parties that providesfor an alternative arrangement.
If the income of an obligor is not withheld as of the effective date of thesupport order, pursuant to subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection, orotherwise, such obligor's income shall become subject to withholdingpursuant to this section without further exception on the date on which theobligor becomes delinquent in maintenance or child support payments in anamount equal to one month's total support obligation. Such withholdingshall be initiated in the manner provided in subsection 4 of this section.All IV-D orders entered or modified by the court shall contain a provisionnotifying the obligor that he or she shall notify the division of childsupport enforcement regarding the availability of medical insurancecoverage through an employer or a group plan, provide the name of theinsurance provider when coverage is available, and inform the division ofany change in access to such insurance coverage. Any income withheldpursuant to this section for a support order initially entered on or afterOctober 1, 1999, shall be paid to the payment center pursuant to section454.530, RSMo. Any order of the court entered on or after October 1, 1999,establishing the withholding for a support order as defined in section454.460, RSMo, or notice from the clerk issued on or after October 1, 1999,pursuant to this section for a support order shall require payment to thepayment center pursuant to section 454.530, RSMo.
3. The provisions of section 432.030, RSMo, to the contrarynotwithstanding, if income withholding has not been initiated on theeffective date of the initial or modified order, the obligated party mayexecute a voluntary income assignment at any time, which assignment shallbe filed with the court and shall take effect after service on the employeror other payor.
4. The circuit clerk, upon application of the obligee or the divisionof child support enforcement, shall send, by certified mail, return receiptrequested, a written notice to the employer or other payor listed on theapplication when the obligated party is subject to withholding pursuant tothe child support order or subsection 2 of this section. For ordersentered or modified in cases known by the circuit clerk to be IV-D cases inwhich income withholding is to be initiated on the effective date of theorder, and effective January 1, 1994, for all orders entered or modified bythe court in which income withholding is to be initiated on the effectivedate of the order, the circuit clerk shall send such notice to the employeror other payor in the manner provided by this section at the time the orderis entered without application of any party when an employer or other payoris identified to the circuit clerk by inclusion in the pleadings pursuantto section 452.312, or otherwise. The notice of income withholding shallbe prepared by the person entitled to support pursuant to the order, or thelegal representative of that person, on a form prescribed by the court, andshall be presented to the clerk of the court at the time the order ofsupport is entered. The notice shall direct the employer or other payor towithhold each month an amount equal to one month's child support andmaintenance until further notice from the court. In the event of adelinquency in child support or maintenance payments in an amount equal toone month's total support obligation, the notice further shall direct theemployer or other payor to withhold each month an additional amount equalto fifty percent of one month's child support and maintenance until thesupport delinquency is paid in full. The notice shall also include astatement of exemptions which may apply to limit the portion of theobligated party's disposable earnings which are subject to the withholdingpursuant to federal or state law and notify the obligor that the obligormay request a hearing and related information pursuant to this section.The notice shall contain the Social Security number of the obligor ifavailable. The circuit clerk shall send a copy of this notice by regularmail to the last known address of the obligated party. A notice issuedpursuant to this section shall be binding on the employer or other payor,and successor employers and payors, two weeks after mailing, and shallcontinue until further order of the court or the division of child supportenforcement. If the notice does not contain the Social Security number ofthe obligor, the employer or other payor shall not be liable forwithholding from the incorrect obligor. The obligated party may, withinthat two-week period, request a hearing on the issue of whether thewithholding should take effect. The withholding shall not be held inabeyance pending the outcome of the hearing. The obligor may not obtainrelief from the withholding by paying overdue support, if any. The onlybasis for contesting the withholding is a mistake of fact. For the purposeof this section, "mistake of fact" shall mean an error in the amount ofarrearages, if applicable, or an error as to the identity of the obligor.The court shall hold its hearing, enter its order disposing of all issuesdisputed by the obligated party, and notify the obligated party and theemployer or other payor, within forty-five days of the date on which thewithholding notice was sent to the employer.
5. For each payment the employer may charge a fee not to exceed sixdollars per month, which shall be deducted from each obligor's moneys,income or periodic earnings, in addition to the amount deducted to meet thesupport or maintenance obligation subject to the limitations contained inthe federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1673).
6. Upon termination of the obligor's employment with an employer uponwhom a withholding notice has been served, the employer shall so notify thecourt in writing. The employer shall also inform the court, in writing, asto the last known address of the obligor and the name and address of theobligor's new employer, if known.
7. Amounts withheld by the employer or other payor shall betransmitted, in accordance with the notice, within seven business days ofthe date that such amounts were payable to the obligated party. Forpurposes of this section, "business day" means a day that state offices areopen for regular business. The employer or other payor shall, along withthe amounts transmitted, provide the date each amount was withheld fromeach obligor. If the employer or other payor is withholding amounts formore than one order, the employer or other payor may combine all suchwithholdings that are payable to the same circuit clerk or the familysupport payment center and transmit them as one payment, together with aseparate list identifying the cases to which they apply. The cases shallbe identified by court case number, name of obligor, the obligor's SocialSecurity number, the IV-D case number, if any, the amount withheld for eachobligor, and the withholding date or dates for each obligor, to the extentthat such information is known to the employer or other payor. An employeror other payor who fails to honor a withholding notice pursuant to thissection may be held in contempt of court and is liable to the obligee forthe amount that should have been withheld. Compliance by an employer orother payor with the withholding notice operates as a discharge ofliability to the obligor as to that portion of the obligor's periodicearnings or other income so affected.
8. As used in this section, the term "employer" includes the stateand its political subdivisions.
9. An employer shall not discharge or otherwise discipline, or refuseto hire, an employee as a result of a withholding notice issued pursuant tothis section. Any obligor who is aggrieved as a result of a violation ofthis subsection may bring a civil contempt proceeding against the employerby filing an appropriate motion in the cause of action from which thewithholding notice issued. If the court finds that the employerdischarged, disciplined, or refused to hire the obligor as a result of thewithholding notice, the court may order the employer to reinstate or hirethe obligor, or rescind any wrongful disciplinary action. If, after theentry of such an order, the employer refuses without good cause to complywith the court's order, or if the employer fails to comply with thewithholding notice, the court may, after notice to the employer and ahearing, impose a fine against the employer, not to exceed five hundreddollars. Proceeds of any such fine shall be distributed by the court tothe county general revenue fund.
10. A withholding entered pursuant to this section may, upon motionof a party and for good cause shown, be amended by the court. The clerkshall notify the employer of the amendment in the manner provided for insubsection 4 of this section.
11. The court, upon the motion of obligor and for good cause shown,may terminate the withholding, except that the withholding shall not beterminated for the sole reason that the obligor has fully paid past duechild support and maintenance.
12. A withholding effected pursuant to this section shall havepriority over any other legal process pursuant to state law against thesame wages, except that where the other legal process is an order issuedpursuant to this section or section 454.505, RSMo, the processes shall runconcurrently, up to applicable wage withholding limitations. Ifconcurrently running wage withholding processes for the collection ofsupport obligations would cause the amounts withheld from the wages of theobligor to exceed applicable wage withholding limitations and includes awage withholding from another state pursuant to section 454.932, RSMo, theemployer shall first satisfy current support obligations by dividing theamount available to be withheld among the orders on a pro rata basis usingthe percentages derived from the relationship each current support orderamount has to the sum of all current child support obligations.Thereafter, delinquencies shall be satisfied using the same pro ratadistribution procedure used for distributing current support, up to theapplicable limitation. If concurrently running wage withholding processesfor the collection of support obligations would cause the amounts withheldfrom the wages of the obligor to exceed applicable wage withholdinglimitations and does not include a wage withholding from another statepursuant to section 454.932, RSMo, the employer shall withhold and pay tothe payment center an amount equal to the wage withholding limitations.The payment center shall first satisfy current support obligations bydividing the amount available to be withheld among the orders on a pro ratabasis using the percentages derived from the relationship each currentsupport order amount has to the sum of all current child supportobligations. Thereafter, arrearages shall be satisfied using the same prorata distribution procedure used for distributing current support, up tothe applicable limitation.
13. The remedy provided by this section applies to child support andmaintenance orders entered prior to August 13, 1986, notwithstanding theabsence of the notice to the obligor provided for in subsection 1 of thissection, provided that prior notice from the circuit clerk to the obligorin the manner prescribed in subsection 5 of section 452.345 is given.
14. Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary,in a case in which support rights have been assigned to the state or inwhich the division of child support enforcement is providing supportenforcement services pursuant to section 454.425, RSMo, the director of thedivision of child support enforcement may amend or terminate a withholdingorder issued pursuant to this section, as provided in this subsectionwithout further action of the court. The director may amend or terminate awithholding order and issue an administrative withholding order pursuant tosection 454.505, RSMo, when the director determines that children for whomthe support order applies are no longer entitled to support pursuant tosection 452.340, when the support obligation otherwise ends and allarrearages are paid, when the support obligation is modified pursuant tosection 454.500, RSMo, or when the director enters an order that isapproved by the court pursuant to section 454.496, RSMo. The directorshall notify the employer and the circuit clerk of such amendment ortermination. The director's administrative withholding order orwithholding termination order shall preempt and supersede any previousjudicial withholding order issued pursuant to this or any other section.
15. For the purpose of this section, "income" means any periodic formof payment due to an individual, regardless of source, including wages,salaries, commissions, bonuses, workers' compensation benefits, disabilitybenefits, payments pursuant to a pension or a retirement program andinterest.
16. If the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Servicespromulgates a final standard format for an employer income withholdingnotice, the court shall use or require the use of such notice.
(1980) Statute providing specifically for assignment of future wages upon order of court for purposes of enforcing order for maintenance created an exception to § 432.030 prohibiting the assignment of future wages. Brinley v. Karnes (A.), 595 W.W.2d 465.
