High Court Asked to Review Garnishment Procedures of Merchants and Finance Cos.

Press Release
June 1, 1968

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Press Releases, Volume 5. High Court Asked to Review Garnishment Procedures of Merchants and Finance Cos., 1968. 7aca06ae-b892-ee11-be37-6045bddb811f. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/26aa5b75-1286-49a9-a4eb-c19c89ea760d/high-court-asked-to-review-garnishment-procedures-of-merchants-and-finance-cos. Accessed October 24, 2025.

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President 
Hon. Francis E. Rivers 

pA) EF PRESS RELEASE Directer-Counset 
iL. fefense und Jack Greenberg 

Director, Public Relations | 
NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. Tene DeVore, Jr. | 
10 Columbus Circle, New York, N.Y. 10019 * JUdson 6-8397 NIGHT NUMBER 212-749-8487 

FOR RELEASE 
SATURDAY 
June 1, 1968 

HIGH COURT ASKED TO REVIEW 
GARNISHMENT PROCEDURES OF 
MERCHANTS & FINANCE COS. 

QUESTION PRESENTED: Can a worker's wages be garnisheed by a merchant 
or finance company before the worker has been 
given a hearing or trial? 

WASHINGTON---The U.S. Supreme Court was asked this week by attorneys 
of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) to con- 
sider for the first time the legality of wage garnishment. 

There are an estimated 4,000,000 garnishments a year. This suit | 
challenges the garnishment procedures in 17 states, the LDF states. | 

This case was filed on behalf of a 23-year-old Milwaukee, Wisc. 
woman, Christine Sniadach, who earns $65.00 weekly. Mrs. Sniadach is | 
white. 

The company for which she worked withheld $31.59 and continues 
to do so. 

| 

An action for $420.00 had been commenced against her by the 
Family Finance Corporation of Bay View, Wisc., but long before any 
hearing or trial, the finance company forced her employer to with- 
hold half of her wages. 

The Miller Harris Instrument Company, her employer, proceeded 
under a Wisconsin law which provides Mrs. Sniadach with "no right to 
notice and hearing or other procedure for challenging the legality 
of the garnishment," according to the LDF brief. 

An estimated four million persons have their salaries garnisheed 
annually, the lawyers say. 

They add that “between 100,000 and 300,000 American workers are 
fired from their jobs each year as a result of wage garnishment." 

If successful, the suit would affect garnishment procedures in | 
17 states. These states are: Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, | 
Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, 
Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. | 

Mrs. Sniadach, who now resides with her parents, is divorced. 
The finance company claims that she owes it money for a purchase made 
by her former husband. 

=30= 

NOTE: The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is a 
separate and distinct organization from the NAACP. Its correct desig- 
nation is NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., which is 
shortened to LDF.

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High Court Asked to Review Garnishment Procedures of Merchants and Finance Cos.

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