Wage Garnishment without a judgement

What is the name of your state? Arizona
We are in a situation where we owe my husband's employer money. The employer keeps his entire paycheck and only pays our electic and phone bill out of it. He just refused to pay our sattelite bill saying "I am not paying for your entertainment" and today he wouldn't allow my husband to pick up his prescription medication saying "not until your bill is paid"
extenuating circumstances:
1. We have no vehicle so the employer brings my husband back and forth to work
2. We live in a house owned by the employer - rent free and my husband works at the employers bidding on the weekends in exchange
3. When we object to the above monetary/rental situation he threatens to evict us.
What can we do legally and prevent termination of employment or eviction as retaliation?

icarol3 said:

What is the name of your state? Arizona
We are in a situation where we owe my husband's employer money. The employer keeps his entire paycheck and only pays our electic and phone bill out of it. He just refused to pay our sattelite bill saying "I am not paying for your entertainment" and today he wouldn't allow my husband to pick up his prescription medication saying "not until your bill is paid"
extenuating circumstances:
1. We have no vehicle so the employer brings my husband back and forth to work
2. We live in a house owned by the employer - rent free and my husband works at the employers bidding on the weekends in exchange
3. When we object to the above monetary/rental situation he threatens to evict us.
What can we do legally and prevent termination of employment or eviction as retaliation?

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Several things here.
First, these are NOT garnishments. Garnishments are 3rd party actions and require a judgment. Your husbands employers actions are DEDUCTIONS.....

Second... your 'rent free' status affects things considerably. How much SHOULD your rent be?? If your rent 'value' exceeds his hours at minimum wage, then he is getting paid... in rent.

Third.... there is no way that you can force your rights for valid compensation (if any) and not face the risk of eviction (assuming you do NOT have a written term lease). You simply cannot have it both ways.

State:Arizona
Perhaps I didn't explain this clearly
1. While we agree that we owe him money, he hasn't shown us any actual receipts-
2. He has been keeping my husband's pay since Jan 2005-yet has failed to provide us with pay stubs from March-July 2005. Since I have been keeping track I see that we have paid him approx. $1500 since Sept 2005 on what is supposedly a $2500 balance
3. There are no written agreements that state he can keep the whole pay check and only pay the bills he feels like paying. I make a small amount of money and it doesn't cover all our bills and so are credit is being adveresly effected. Late fees, disconnect notices, and now our sattelite will probable be turned off.
4. What about my husband's prescription medication-does his employer have the right to not pay for it out of my husband's check
5. As far as the rent goes it is $350/month-no written anything re:lease/terms. The original agreement to work weekends,as needed, was made with his employer's father who passed away in October 2004. We have lived here since Oct 2000. My husband is paid $13/hour which means he should only have to work 30 hrs./month to pay rent-not every weekend day sometimes 10 hrs/day. in that case then he is actually paying close to 600/mo on rent that is only 350/mo-yet we have no recourse if we are unwilling to become homeless and unemployed?

icarol3 said:

1. While we agree that we owe him money, he hasn't shown us any actual receipts

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Then ask/demand them.

He has been keeping my husband's pay since Jan 2005-yet has failed to provide us with pay stubs from March-July 2005. Since I have been keeping track I see that we have paid him approx. $1500 since Sept 2005 on what is supposedly a $2500 balance

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See above.

There are no written agreements that state he can keep the whole pay check and only pay the bills he feels like paying. I make a small amount of money and it doesn't cover all our bills and so are credit is being adveresly effected. Late fees, disconnect notices, and now our sattelite will probable be turned off.

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So?? He is the one who made the 'deal'. You still haven't provided what your rent SHOULD be!! Take what your rent should be... divide that by $5.15 (minimum wage) and that tells you how many hours of labor it takes to offset the rent. Any amount OVER that (less any other 'expenses' you have agreed to) should be paid.

What about my husband's prescription medication-does his employer have the right to not pay for it out of my husband's check

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Depends on whether he has anything left over after getting his 'rent' paid.

As far as the rent goes it is $350/month-no written anything re:lease/terms. The original agreement to work weekends,as needed, was made with his employer's father who passed away in October 2004. We have lived here since Oct 2000. My husband is paid $13/hour which means he should only have to work 30 hrs./month to pay rent-not every weekend day sometimes 10 hrs/day. in that case then he is actually paying close to 600/mo on rent that is only 350/mo-yet we have no recourse if we are unwilling to become homeless and unemployed?

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Okay, pretty easy solution... contact your state labor agency and file a minimum wage violation complaint.
http://www.ica.state.az.us/Labor/la_wages.htm

Thank-you for the link. I will contact the legal department at the Labor Commission on Monday