Lab. Code, § 2929 · Article 4. Termination of Employment
Lab. Code, § 2929
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Garnishment” means any judicial procedure through which the wages of an employee are required to be withheld for the payment of any debt.
(2) “Wages” has the same meaning as that term has under Section 200.
(b) No employer may discharge any employee by reason of the fact that the garnishment of his wages has been threatened. No employer may discharge any employee by reason of the fact that his wages have been subjected to garnishment for the payment of one judgment. A provision of a contract of employment that provides an employee with less protection than is provided by this subdivision is against public policy and void.
(c) Unless the employee has greater rights under the contract of employment, the wages of an employee who is discharged in violation of this section shall continue until reinstatement notwithstanding such discharge, but such wages shall not continue for more than 30 days and shall not exceed the amount of wages earned during the 30 calendar days immediately preceding the date of the levy of execution upon the employee’s wages which resulted in his discharge. The employee shall give notice to his employer of his intention to make a wage claim under this subdivision within 30 days after being discharged; and, if he desires to have the Labor Commissioner take an assignment of his wage claim, the employee shall file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner within 60 days after being discharged. The Labor Commissioner may, in his discretion, take assignment of wage claims under this subdivision as provided for in Section 96. A discharged employee shall not be permitted to recover wages under this subdivision if a criminal prosecution based on the same discharge has been commenced for violation of Section 304 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1674).
(d) Nothing in this section affects any other rights the employee may have against his employer.
(e) This section is intended to aid in the enforcement of the prohibition against discharge for garnishment of earnings provided in the Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968 (15 U.S.C. Secs. 1671–1677) and shall be interpreted and applied in a manner which is consistent with the corresponding provisions of such act.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Stats. 1971, Ch. 1607.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB§ionNum=2929.
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