Supporters of a lawsuit against the department say the agency is placing the "well-being of vulnerable student loan borrowers in peril" during the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Elizabeth Barber, 59, was barely squeaking by. While earning $12.89 per hour as a home health aide near Rochester, New York, she defaulted on her federal student loans last year and received a notice in December that the Department of Education would begin wage garnishment.
A lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington by student borrower groups on behalf of Barber accuses DeVos and the Education Department of continuing to"seize wages from distressed federal student loan borrowers" during the pandemic. The exact number of student borrowers who are still having their wages garnished is unclear, but according to the lawsuit, the department estimated about 285,000 people had parts of their paycheck taken between March 13-26 — just before DeVos' action took effect.
The lawsuit seeks to enforce that the Education Department abides by the CARES Act and that any illegally seized wages are refunded.
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