Union Pacific Railroad v. Trona Valley Federal Credit Union

**Union Pacific Railroad v. Trona Valley Federal Credit Union: Wage Garnishment Limits Protected** This case involved a dispute over how much money could be taken from a Union Pacific Railroad employee's paycheck to pay off debts. The employee already had child support payments being deducted from their wages. When a credit union tried to garnish additional money for a consumer debt, Union Pacific refused to take out the full amount the credit union wanted. The Wyoming Supreme Court sided with Union Pacific Railroad. The court ruled that the railroad was correct to limit the total garnishments to 25% of the employee's disposable earnings, as required by federal consumer protection law. Since child support was already being deducted, adding the full consumer debt garnishment would have exceeded this legal limit. **What this means for workers:** Federal law protects you from having too much of your paycheck garnished at once. Even if you owe money to multiple creditors, employers cannot take more than 25% of your disposable earnings for consumer debts combined. Child support and other priority obligations count toward this limit, providing important financial protection so you can still afford basic living expenses.