Is there a way to prevent wage withholdings in ohio under chapter 13 if you fear your job could be jeopardized?

[reuben29]

I have been making payments to the Chapter 13 Trustee for the past 8 months while my case was going through the confirmation process. As soon as it was confirmed, I received a copy of an order for an automatic wage withholding notice which was sent to my employer, even though my attorney was supposed to have an agreement in place with the Trustees office allowing manual payments. It appears my attorney forgot to submit this request. I have asked my attorney to file a motion to pull back the automatic wage withholding order, which he is willing to do. However, I have also asked him to file a motion for an immediate, temporary stay of the order until a hearing takes place. He is not willing to do this. He said "temporary" or "immediate" stays are not allowed in chapter 13 cases. He also said it would be unethical for him to do this. I don't understand why or how it would be unethical. This temporary or immediate stay can prevent the first payment from being deducted from any of my paychecks (I only have a few days to prevent this action). Once my next paycheck is processed, this action will be permanently in my work payroll records. Even though bankruptcy laws prohibit discrimination against employees for participating in the program, Ohio is an "at will" employment state. Due to the nature of my job, some of my immediate job responsibilities could become jeopardized if my employer found out about my chapter 13 filing. My company has downsized considerably over the last 6 months and they are not finished. While they may not be able to terminate me for filing or participating in Chapter 13, under the "at-will employment" clause, they do not have to give any reason for a termination if they don't want to, or they could develop another subjective reason to terminate my position in order to protect themselves. Does anyone know if it is possible to get an immediate, temporary stay of an order, pending a formal hearing on the motion to pull back the original order? If so, what grounds can be cited as a reason to justify the temporary stay? My case is in Columbus OH, if that makes any difference.

[abelard29]

Hi,

You ask an interesting question. It is not part of the Bankruptcy Code, per se, but rather a "local rule" (which is operative in many, many districts) which requires a wage order for Ch 13 Plan payments.

I suppose your attorney would have to file a motion to suspend the local rule ... theoretically this should be possible, but (warning...) I could easily imagine that an attorney would charge an additional fee to do this, since this additional legal work was not anticipated when the attorney set his or her fee for your case. I cannot imagine a way this could be done as an emergency motion.

In most cases, most judges are unsympathetic to the argument that it could cause you to lose your job. They will cite section 525 of the bankruptcy code which prohibits discrimination in employment against an employee who has filed bankruptcy.

I know "in the real world" these things are terribly difficult to prove, and you are right ... in an at-will employment situation, the employer doesn't even have to give a reason for terminating an employee.

I don't know what to say about that, other than suggesting that you make sure that if your employment situation changes in any adverse way, you keep meticulous notes and forward all info to your attorney IMMEDIATELY.