Garnishment

Date: April 19, 2012

To: Heads of Human Resources, Directors/Chiefs of Labour Relations and Compensation

Last year, the President of the Treasury Board made a commitment to address issues with respect to the garnishment of salaries and other remuneration of federal public servants.

As a follow-up to efforts to support the timely remittance of garnishments of public servants’ salaries, amendments to the Directive on the Financial Management of Pay Administration have been made.

These amendments clarify and strengthen garnishment responsibilities by:

• reinforcing the importance of timely garnishment remittances in accordance with the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act (GAPDA); and
• further specifying the responsibilities of both Chief Financial Officers and the Heads of Human Resources in the garnishment process.

In addition, Guidelines on the Processing of Garnishments have been developed to assist departments in meeting the requirements for timely garnishment under the GAPDA.

Good progress has already been made in taking measures to address any undue delays in timely garnishment remittances. As a further step, the amended Directive on the Financial Management of Pay Administration is expected to support organizations in the continued effective management of the garnishment process.

The amended Directive and the Guidelines are effective April 1, 2012.

Questions pertaining to this bulletin should be directed to your Departmental Corporate Compensation Official who in turn can contact the Compensation and Labour Relations Interpretations mailbox.

Original signed by

Michael Holt
A/Senior Director
Compensation management
Core Public Administration
Compensation and Labour Relations
Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer