Legal Eaze #51 Garnishments/Car Service Delay

Title: August 2, 2006

Q. My paychecks are being garnished every month for child support I owed. My boss has expressed his frustration overt that, because extra work has to be done by his bookkeeper. He threatened to fire me if I did not deal with this myself. I do not have a choice about these garnishments because the court ordered it to be done this way. But I do not want to get fired over this. I remember when I was called for jury duty, he made the same threat, stating that he could not afford to have any of his employees out for jury duty. What can I do?

A. Your employer cannot punish you because a court has garnished your wages or is threatening you to do so as part of a court order. In other words, if a court takes money out of your paycheck because it ordered you to pay for past debt, unfulfilled child support or alimony, it is illegal for your boss to fire you or to punish you in any way for the garnishment. Such matters are considered separate from workplace disputes. As for jury duty, you cannot be fired for taking time off of work to serve on a jury or appear as a witness in a case, as long as you give your employer reasonable advance notice. There are also a variety of federal law offering similar protections to you in the workplace (Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights, Act, for instance). More often than not, California statutes prove to have even broader protections than the federal laws. However, any who feels that they were wrongfully terminated, would still be wise to consider statutes under California and federal law.

Q. I bought a brand new car in January 2006. The air conditioner in the car stopped functioning last week in this heat and I am totally miserable. I called the dealer where I bought the car to make an appointment with the service department. I have only driven the car 8,500 miles so far. Their service department is extremely busy and I can’t get an appointment until the end of next week. What should I do?

A. I would attempt to make an appointment with the service department of another dealer that sells the same kind of car, in order to get your car repaired sooner. You can go to any dealer you want, as long as that dealer sells the kind of vehicle you own. You can also rent a car (that has working air conditioning) and present the rent-a-car bill to your dealer who could not service your car in a timely manner. However, make sure to notify that dealer of your intentions. .

Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 14 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880