To bring a national standard to  » withholding laws, the Federal government has enacted laws that require states to adopt certain rules when setting their own standards for implementing child support requirements. These requirements include deadlines for withholding and remitting payments, filing procedures, and penalties and fines for violations. But the states are free to set up their own rules and regulations as long as they fall within those guidelines and many do differ from the minimum federal requirements. Payroll departments must know both the federal laws and the state laws and must determine which one applies to the child support withholding order.