Understanding Garnishments
OPA receives income executions against City employees from City Marshals and the City's Office of the Sheriff. If OPA receives an income execution against you, the City will garnish 10% of your gross salary and give it to the City Marshal or Sheriff, unless a lower amount is specified in the income execution, and deductions will continue until the total amount is collected or in the event that OPA receives instructions from the City Marshal or Sheriff to release or suspend an Income Execution.

The total garnishment is the principle amount owed plus interest and a poundage fee of 5%. The interest is calculated from the date listed on the execution and recomputed every two weeks as long as there is a balance owed. The current interest rate is 9%. In addition, you pay a one-time fee for income executions from City Marshals.

Learn more about City Marshals
Visit the Sheriff's Web site


Disagreeing with the Garnishment
City Marshals and the Sheriff advise you when your pay is to be garnished. If you disagree with the garnishment, you can file an  Order  to Show Cause with the appropriate court. After receiving instructions based on the Court Order from the Sheriff or Marshal, OPA will suspend the distribution of your deductions until further instructions are received from the City Marshal or Sheriff. OPA does not accept or interpret Court documents.

Subsequent to the filing of an Order to Show Cause, follow up with the court to ensure it is acted upon within 90 days. If OPA does not receive notification regarding the disposition of the Unjust Show Cause Order, the distribution of deductions may start again after 90 days.

Depending on the outcome of the Show Cause Order Court ruling, the City Marshal or Sheriff may instruct OPA to release all the pending deductions to you, or, if the court determines that the garnishment should stay in effect, to distribute your deductions to the City Marshal or Sheriff and deductions will continue until the remainder of the garnishment is paid.

Once an Income Execution has been rescinded by a City Marshal or Sheriff, OPA will refund any monies on hand The refund will be added to the next earliest possible payroll check you receive. The City Marshal or Sheriff may also have monies to be returned to you. Those funds are returned to OPA. OPA will record the refund and promptly distribute the monies in the same manner. You may contact the City Marshal or Sheriff or contact OPA at (212) 669-8555 to inquire about whether or not you are due a refund. Please contact OPA if you have not received a refund check in a timely fashion.

Learn more about New York State courts


Record of Garnishments
The amount deducted for the garnishment is indicated on your pay statement. Your pay statements are the best source of information about a garnishment; keep them for your records.

Learn more about pay statement details