Chapter 13 Wage Deduction Order For Defense Industry Employees

Chapter 13 plans have a very high completion rate when debtors agree to pay using a wage deduction order. Payment is more likely when deducted from your paycheck as opposed to having to discipline yourself to give the Chapter 13 payment priority over other household expenses. 

Many debtors are reluctant to use payroll deduction because they do not want their employer to know about their bankruptcy. Particularly, I have had several clients who were working for companies with military defense contracts. These bankruptcy debtors had various degrees of security clearance and were afraid they would lose their clearance and job if the employer knew about the bankruptcy. 

I understand that defense contractors run credit checks on their employees in sensitive positions so that the employer will find a bankruptcy regardless of whether the debtor requests a wage deduction. Additionally, once the employer knows of the bankruptcy they usually will ask the Chapter 13 trustee annually for payment reports to see if the debtor’s Chapter 13 plan payments are current. Therefore, requesting a wage deduction when you are working with a government security clearance will not provide information to your employer which it does not already know.

Bankruptcy law prohibits a government employer from firing you because you filed bankruptcy. As long as you stay current with your Chapter 13 plan you will not lose your job or a government security clearance. A wage deduction order will not jeopardize your defense industry job, but it will protect your clearance and employment by ensuring that you meet your obligations under the Chapter 13 plan.