Priority
Use the Process Multiple Wage Attachment Rules function (B0701800) to test employee wage attachment rules at all of the assignment levels. Occasionally, the system determines that a reduction in an employee's withholdings is necessary to comply with the wage attachment rules.
When calculating DBAs during the payroll process, the system calculates the wage attachments with the lowest PDBA number first, and if multiple wage attachments exist with the same PDBA number, the priority is then determined by the wage attachment number. The system calculates the lowest wage attachment number first.
After it calculates each wage attachment, the system searches for any wage attachment rules. It then determines whether any of the rules have been broken. If no rule has been broken, the system calculates the employee's next wage attachment. Again, the system checks to see if any rules have been broken after calculating the second wage attachment. If rules have been broken, this wage attachment is reduced so that the employee's combined withholdings comply with the rule.
This example illustrates how the system determines the order in which to calculate, and reduce, wage attachments:
Employee A has these wage attachments, all of which have rules attached to them at the DBA level:
PDBA 1102, wage attachment 4000, assigned to the employee on January 1, 2003.
PDBA 1102, wage attachment 5000, assigned to the employee on June 1, 2003.
PDBA 1104, wage attachment 3000, assigned to the employee on January 1, 2002.
The system calculates wage attachment 4000, verifies whether any rules have been broken, and adjusts the amount of this wage attachment if necessary. The system then calculates wage attachment 5000, verifies whether any rules have been broken, and adjusts the amount of this wage attachment if necessary. Lastly, the system calculates wage attachment 3000, verifies whether any rules have been broken, and adjusts the amount of this wage attachment if necessary.
Important:When you set up DBAs for wage attachments, you must consider the priority in which you want them to calculate when assigning DBA codes. For example, if child support wage attachments should be given higher priority than garnishment wage attachments, the DBA code that you use for child support wage attachments must be lower than the DBA code you use for garnishments.
As indicated in the example, wage attachment 3000 has the highest DBA number and therefore the lowest priority. Because of its priority, this DBA is calculated last, even though it was assigned to the employee before the other two attachments.
If the organization does business in many different states or countries, you might need to set up more than one DBA for each type of wage attachment to ensure that the system uses the correct priority according to the legislative requirements in the organization's areas.