Garnishment of earnings: Liability of employer for refusal to withhold or for misrepresentation of earnings

1. If without legal justification an employer of the defendant refuses to withhold earnings of the defendant demanded in a writ of garnishment or knowingly misrepresents the earnings of the defendant, the court may order the employer to appear and show cause why the employer should not be subject to the penalties prescribed in subsection 2. 2. If after a hearing upon the order to show cause, the court determines that an employer, without legal justification, refused to withhold the earnings of a defendant demanded in a writ of garnishment or knowingly misrepresented the earnings of the defendant, the court shall order the employer to pay the plaintiff, if the plaintiff has received a judgment against the defendant, the amount of arrearages caused by the employer’s refusal to withhold or the employer’s misrepresentation of the defendant’s earnings. In addition, the court may order the employer to pay the plaintiff punitive damages in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for each pay period in which the employer has, without legal justification, refused to withhold the defendant’s earnings or has misrepresented the earnings.