Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG) Hearing Services

Providing Support to FFELP Guarantors and Their Contracted Collection Agencies in Need of AWG Hearing Services

For over 25 years, ECMC has provided AWG hearing services for other guarantors and their contracted collection agencies.

When a guarantor initiates the AWG process (either on its own or through a collection agency acting on its behalf), federal regulations require that the borrower be provided an option to request a hearing to object to the wage garnishment. If the borrower requests a hearing, it must be performed by an independent party.

ECMC's professional staff—experienced and with in-depth knowledge of federal student loan programs—provide agencies and borrowers a fair hearing conducted by an impartial hearing officer. The hearing officer reviews each hearing request thoroughly and provides the agency and the borrower a final decision regarding the AWG order.

What to expect when using ECMC for AWG hearing services:

• Prompt servicing, which includes scheduling, notifying, conducting and rendering each final decision within 50 days from ECMC's receipt of the hearing. This response time supports the regulatory requirement to render a decision within 60 days.
• Monthly status reports, including files received, completed hearings and the outcome of each completed hearing.
• Dedicated systems that have been developed on and housed within our IT infrastructure that is built to meet NIST 800-53 standards, which is the basis for the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).