Wage garnishment (also known as wage attachment or wage assignment) is a legal procedure in which a person's earnings are required by court order to be withheld by an employer for the payment of a debt such as child support, spousal or partner support, or a judgment in a civil lawsuit.

Title III of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) prohibits an employer from discharging an employee whose earnings have been subject to garnishment for any one debt, regardless of the number of levies made or proceedings brought to collect it. Title III also limits the amount of an employee’s earnings that may be garnished in any one week. But it does not protect an employee from discharge if the employee's earnings have been subject to garnishment for a second or subsequent debts.

Title III applies to all individuals who receive personal earnings and to their employers. Personal earnings include wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and income from a pension or retirement program, but does not ordinarily include tips.

States also have laws governing wage garnishment, attachment, or assignment, and these laws vary from state to state.

In North Carolina, wage garnishment is generally not permitted except for certain types of debts such as child support, spousal support, taxes, student loans, and federal agency debts. North Carolina state law largely prohibits wage garnishment for consumer debts, which means creditors cannot garnish wages for credit card debts, personal loans, and other similar debts. However, for the debts that are allowed to be garnished, the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) provides protections for employees. Under Title III of the CCPA, an employer cannot terminate an employee because their wages have been garnished for a single debt, regardless of the number of actions taken to collect that debt. The CCPA also limits the amount that can be garnished from an employee's wages to a percentage of their disposable earnings. However, these protections do not extend to cases where an employee's wages are subject to garnishment for multiple debts. It's important for both employers and employees in North Carolina to understand these federal protections as well as the state's restrictions on wage garnishment.