How do I add a Child Support deduction?
Question
How do I add a child support deduction or cover missed weeks for an employee?
Answer
Admins can manage child support garnishments, including initial setup for automated remittance and manual entries for retroactive catch-up payments.
You can add child support deductions to an employee's profile for both recurring garnishments and one-time catch-up amounts. For recurring payments, you can choose to have 7shifts remit the funds to the agency or handle the remittance manually yourself.
Why This Happens
Child support deductions are triggered by official court-ordered notices requiring employers to withhold wages.
Missed or "catch-up" payments typically occur when an order is received after a payroll cycle has started or if there was an oversight during a new hire's profile setup.
What To Do
Admins can add a child support deduction by providing the official court-ordered notice (containing the case number, agency name, and specific payment amounts) to 7shifts support. When a court orders child support, it may require the employer to withhold a portion of employee wages directly from their paychecks through wage garnishment.
Note: If you manually add a deduction labeled "Child Support," 7shifts will not remit the payment to the agency. You remain responsible for sending those withheld funds yourself.
Follow the steps below based on whether you are setting up a new deduction or catching up on missed weeks:
Initial Setup (Request 7shifts to remit child support payments)
If you want 7shifts Payroll to withhold and send child support payments on your behalf, you must submit the official notice to the 7shifts support team. 7shifts will add the deduction to the payroll account. These agency-managed deductions will appear in the account but cannot be edited. 7shifts will then send the withheld funds to the appropriate agency.
Initial Setup (Manually add a deduction without remittance)
You can manually add a child support deduction if you intend to send the payment to the agency yourself. Manually added deductions display a More options icon and can be edited. The withheld amount remains in your business account, and you are responsible for remitting it to the appropriate agency.
Retroactive Catch-Up Payments
If a child support order was received late and you need to recover missed weeks, follow these steps to stay compliant:
Important: When catching up on missed payments, ensure the total deduction does not exceed federal or state garnishment limits. 7shifts will NOT remit one-time catch-up payments; the employer must send these funds manually.
Contact 7shifts support team to add the recurring deduction. This ensures future payments are automatically withheld and remitted.
Determine the total dollar amount that was missed during the previous payroll cycles.
Add this total as a one-time post-tax deduction in the employee's profile: Adding post-tax deductions to an employee profile.
You must send the catch-up funds to the agency yourself. 7shifts will not remit one-time manual deductions.
Inform the child support agency that you are manually remitting the retroactive amounts to satisfy the order. The agency may provide specific instructions for remitting the missed amounts