Title: Working 40+ hours a week, not getting paid OT

Question:
Aplogize for throwaway but rather be safe.

I work for a privately held company in Ohio for 47 hours every week, with an occasional Saturday workday. I am a salaried employee who makes $45K a year, and my friends told me that it was against federal law to not be paid OT due to a law Obama put into office stating those who made under $47k (or something like that) need to be paid OT. I work in a manufacturing type of setting so I understand the longer hours it's just I don't believe I'm getting paid fairly.

I have been working here since June 2017, and worked about 4 or 5 Saturdays. I was wondering if I could take legal action as well as if it would be worth doing so.

Thank you in advance for the help and advice!

Answer:
 The law your friends are referencing did not go into effect.  The salary requirement for overtime still sits at $23,660 ($455/week).

If you're properly classified as salaried exempt, and you make over $23,660 per year, then you are not eligible for overtime pay.Answer #2: The Obama era rule was frozen by a federal court and has never taken effect.
The minimum salary for one of the white collar exemptions is $23,600 per year.

The Trump Administration is in the process of revising the rule but until and unless they take action the salary threshold that you’re discussing will stay at $23,600.

(There are other tests relating to overtime that you can read about here)

https://commons.lbl.gov/download/attachments/75500811/FLSA+Exemption+Test+(Non-Posted+Positions).doc?version=3&modificationDate=1340219244247


Title: Cosigned on a Student loans for a friend

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Yes, you need to pay and sue. If you do not, the creditor will ruin your credit and can sue you equally to recover the debt.Answer #2: Student loans do not adhere to the statute of limitations. Unless I'm missing something, they do not go away.  I assume that is why they gave out a loan of $80,000 with no collateral.  They cannot be discharged through bankruptcy and if he dies before the loan is paid off - you are responsible for the remaining balance.  Either I am wrong on something or you do not fully understand the gravity of the current situation.


Title: (Ontario, Canada) How do I go about hiring a lawyer for everyday life?

Question:
I need a lawyer, and would like to hire one to help me whenever I need help. I don't have a problem I need a lawyer for, its just someone I can call for help when I need it.. mediation, family, privacy, insurance, business, employment, government, etc.

How do I go about hiring a lawyer?

Answer:
 do you really want an attorney who is always available to take your call and case? fyi I charge 3000$ a month for that alone, with costs and hours then racking up.

more you want an attorney you can call when needed and hire for that case, which means you're not hiring now, you're just making contacts and building a network you can eventually rely on. find the type yOU want, use a local bar network (or whatever it is in Canada) to get a list, and Go shopping. Answer #2: My suggestion for everybody is to hire a lawyer for something simple. like making a will.  You should have a will anyway, and for a reasonable payment, you now have a lawyer.  You can call his office later and say "I'm a client of Dewey Cheatham and I need help with something, is he available?"

Now, he might not be the type of lawyer you need if you're charged with a crime, but I'll bet he knows somebody who is, and is good at it, and he'll be glad to refer you.  The other lawyer will take your call, because you were referred by a guy he knows.


Title: Accidentally reposted possible cp on 4chan

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Stop downloading material that *might be* CP. Actually, stop going on boards that *might have* CP. Definitely stop sharing material that might be CP. No one could anticipate whether or not 4chan would report users uploading what they flag as CP to the applicable authorities, but they have cooperated with the FBI before, so regardless of the specific risk that you get in trouble, it's a pretty stupid move.


Title: My school's school spirit week includes Black Pride Day? Are they allowed to do that? I'm not black!

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Why, exactly, does the idea of Black Pride Day offend you so much?


Title: Terminated for cashing my paycheck! Do I have a case? Chicago, IL

Question: My boss stated Wednesday in an email that she would not be able to make pay roll. She asked us not to cash our checks till funds were available. She promised Wednesday at the latest. I couldn't wait for my money so I cashed my check. This morning I get an email from her stating that I'm being terminated for cashing my check when she asked me not to. Do I have a case?

Answer: That sucks, but it's legal. File for unemployment while you look for a new job.Answer #2: This doesn't sound like the greatest of jobs, anyway. You should be eligible for unemployment.


Title: My parents stole $70-90k from me. However you want to look at it. What can I do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 For this sum of money you really need to consult an attorney. If you decide to pursue a lawsuit, then the discovery process should hopefully reveal where all that money went.Answer #2: This is very complicated. You should talk to a real lawyer because everything isn't clear cut. There is a lot of "they convinced me to withdraw/spend the money" instead of "they committed fraud and stole the money from me."

The fact that you were awarded 120k and the account only had 90k in it when you hit 18 is a big red flag though, you need to find out what happened. And this is a pretty complicated mess, so you will probably need a lawyer.


Title: False Advertising by a Regal Theater?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: So leave a Yelp complaint and move on. This isn't a hill worth dying on.Answer #2: So their "Medium" cup says "Small" and their "Large" cup says "Medium" correct?


Title: Corporate BS says multi factory wage freeze for another factory's error??

Question: I work at a optical production factory. The company (not the lab I work at) was fined hundreds of thousands by the EPA for "illegal discharges of liquid corrosive waste." A lab meeting occurred this month and we were told none of us employees will get raises this year due to financial strains. Thru lab chit chat I found out the fines were a big reason why. I started there when I was 17, worked there for 5 years. I left to explore other opportunities but came back to work this past October. The people are fun to work with it pays better than a high percentage of other employers in the area....however because of my one criminal charge (currently in a stay of adjudication) they made me go thru a temp agency. Fine. However I was indirectly told they can't hire me because of that incident but they wanted to hire me but can't get around corporate's rules. But they recognize my great work ethic and don't want me to leave. So now I'm stuck at a job that I love but can't get hired on and even if I did wouldn't get a raise. Gridlocked into a temp to hire wage and feeling a little cheated. note our lab complies to all epa standards and haven't been fined or cited to my knowledge. The corporate bs is however less than favorable.

Answer:
 Is your legal question "what can I do?"

The answer is nothing.  Wage freezes, temp agencies, hiring freezes, background checks....all perfectly legal.


Title: I just got fired! Can I sue? Serious answers only

Question:
I WORKED as a cashier at cvs and this alcoholic come in the store every day buying beer multiple times a day. He would make sexual comments towards me when I rung him up and I told my manager about it and he dismissed it. that was a couple months ago, so ever since then I kind of went out of my way to avoid the guy...

 So saturday  (March 19) I was outside after the store close (on CVS property) waiting on my mother to come get me and the drunk guy comes up and started yelling at me from across the street, then he came in my face telling me to go back to Africa, making sexual comments, etc etc etc.

Then some other guy in the neighborhood told the drunk guy to leave me alone and the drunk guy left but he kinda left in a hurry like he was going to get something out of his house but thankfully my mom came like a minute later.

The next day I tell my store manager about it and he said he can't make the guy not come back in the store and there was nothing he can do about it. (Even though he banned a lady for arguing with hI'm about coupons)
Then my supervisor said the store manager told her to tell the guy he can still come in the store but don't talk to me. wtf

So today (3/21/16) I confronted my store manager about the customer telling him I don't like the way he handled the situation, and he was putting me in an environment where a customer has threatened me, is sexually harassing. I feel like I'm in an unsafe environment and he was being nonchalant and dismissive and not caring what I had to say. So I kept saying how I he didn't handle the situation properly and things got heated and he told me I could leave and he fired me.

Then he told me I can't have my vacation time either I'm pissed!

I live in South Carolina btw

Answer:
 Are you sure your discharge didn't have anything to do with the fact that you stole from your employer?

See http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/48thru/caught_stealing_at_work_only_serious_answers/

and especially http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/48thru/caught_stealing_at_work_only_serious_answers/d0me83s, where you said:

> itswhatevertho92 -1 points 17 days ago

> It's policy to not give the gift card back to the customer. They return the product the gift card gets returned too. **I understand it's wrong it happened last year in September and I have no plan to make anything right.** What can I do confess get charged pay money for a stupid rush I decided to take. **I understand I messed up** but me getting arrested or anything isn't worth a gift card.

(Emphasis added.)
Answer #2: Serious answer!  You don't have the right to yell at your manager. Your termination was not unlawful. Serious answer!


Title: [Maryland, USA] $1200 stolen from fans in group order for custom action figures

Question:
I'm in a fandom, and over a year ago a well known fan contacted a few of us saying she found a sculptor willing to create custom action figures of a character from the show we all like. He said that because it is a custom order, he would require us to purchase ten action figure heads from him. If the response to them was good and there seemed to be a demand, he would open public sales of the action figures via his website.

The fan running the order who had contact with sculptor, Jenny, created a group email thread. She said the deadline for payment was January 4th, 2018. Every person in the order sent payment in full to her, for a total of $200 per person. Jenny also asked that we send the payment via paypal as a 'gift to friend', not a goods and services payment since that would take out paypal fees.

Fast forward one year later, to December 30th 2018. Out the order it turns out:

1. Only 5 out of 12 people actually have received a figure, leaving 7 people with no goods
2. 2 figures were given by Jenny to cast members from the show

I contacted the sculptor. He gave proof that Jenny only ordered 7 heads from him, not 10, and that all the heads were shipped to her and arrived between June 2018 and September 2018. She does not have any current orders with him.

So Jenny has $1200 total and no product, and apparently no intention to actually order these action figures from the sculptor.

Those of us who have no received an action figure from her want to file a lawsuit demanding she refund our money. Would it be better to file as a group, or individuals? And how should we file? Would it be best to get a lawyer?

Thanks for any advice.

Answer:
 Do you have any kind of contract in writing? Normally you all would have a fairly straight-forward case, however how much this is a factor I have no clue:

> Jenny also asked that we send the payment via paypal as a 'gift to friend', not a goods and services payment

It's not a slam dunk to argue that what you gave wasn't more than a "gift," as you yourself called it.


Title: (x-post from /r/personalfinance) Accepted job offer. Now, HR says they offered me too much hourly wage and are rescinding offer for a lower hourly wage?

Question:
Hello!

I am a new graduate who is hoping to advance my career in medicine (currently applying to schools). Because of this, I am temporarily working in a hospital as a Nurse Tech. I recently interviewed and accepted a position in our Emergency Department under the same title.

I received an offer via email and accepted. HR lady responded with "I am going to consider your email as formal acceptance of the position." Now, after emailing her again, she responds saying:

> *"I will need to revisit the pay amount that I originally offered you for the position and get back to you, it  looks like based on your experience that it will not be the original offer amount."*

Am I SOL? I haven't signed any official documentation but we have both acknowledged my acceptance of the position. This has been a headache. Any help is appreciated as I am a little upset and confused at the moment. **In total, this would likely decrease my yearly salary by $8000/year.**

Answer: It's legal to rescind your offer if that's what you're asking.Answer #2: I have a question on this. I am just curious, I hope you do not mind. Say op had a proposal from this company at $25/hour and another proposal from another company at $24/hour. Say op rejected the second proposal, but then the first company rescinded their offer to $20/hour. Could op somehow claim the lost difference?


Title: (PA, USA) Caught speeding by unmarked state police SUV that was parked on the side of the highway as if disabled. Is that legal?

Question:
Pennsylvania, United States

I have searched for a couple of hours, but I can't find anything specific on the responsibilities of the speed enforcement officer. Are they allowed to imitate a disabled vehicle? Be unmarked AKA not be "visible"? I have been going through state statutes and cannot find anything relevant. Thought I would post here before making a few calls to the state or my representatives. Thanks for your time.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: By "as if disabled," you mean what? On the side of the road? Where cops usually are when they're not driving? There's no prohibition against a police vehicle parking in plain sight to catch speeders.


Title: Underage DUI?

Question: Fuck

Answer:
 You cannot drive drunk on private property even with the owners permission so that is irrelevant. It is one of the few vehicle code violations that ignores private property.

Your mother called and said you had been drinking. The legal amount to drink at 18 and drive is zero so the police had more than enough cause to stop you.

Again the legal amount for you to drink is zero so with your objective symptoms you can be arrested with zero tests.

None of your defenses will work.

Edit: you won't get jail time unless you go to trial. For a first time DUI you will likely be offered a plea not involving jail time.Answer #2: > Not sure if the stop was warranted

Clearly it was, but that is something an attorney will evaluate.

> The owner of the property said he has no problem saying in court he allows drunk driving in order to help me,

Funniest thing I've read in a while. A 3rd party admits he allows illegal activity on his property? Not only would that not help you, it might land him in hot water.

You need an attorney. If you can't afford one, plead not guilty at your arraignment and ask for a public defender. Let your attorney plan your best defense and options for wet reckless (there is no "and") or other plea.


Title: [CA] A woman just came into my work and left a note saying how she was beaten, kidnapped, poisoned, and raped in [TX]. Note includes names, addresses, and a DL#. Seeing as it's a different state, what is the best course of action? Police?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Yes. Call the police.  In what world do you not **immediately** call the police?Answer #2: > Do we just give this to the police?

That's what I would do.

Call the non-emergency line and explain to them what happened and that you have the note. Maybe she was scared for her safety and that's why she suddenly dropped off the note, or maybe she is simply crazy. Either way, let the police handle it.


Title: The school I was attending essentially forced me into an accident, then kicked me out. What can I do? (BC, Canada)

Question:
I’m on mobile, so please bare with me!

As the title says, I was attending school a couple cities over from my home town. I couldn’t afford to rent a place, so I drove back and forth each day. Back in February, we got a HUGE dump of snow for a few weeks, making it unsafe for me to drive back and forth in my truck. I had no other reliable vehicle to use.

On Feb. 22, I received a text from a school official warning me that if I was not in class for the full day on the 23rd, my funding would be pulled and I would be removed from my course. I had been in constant contact with them about the unsafe driving conditions, and it was even acknowledged in the text message from the school official, so it’s clear that they simply did not care.

Because of this message, I ignored my instinct and tried to drive through the snow to school on Feb 23, resulting in a horrific accident when I hit black ice, spun off the road, and rolled my truck. I called the school immediately to inform them of what had happened.

I was met the following week with “Your funding has been pulled, because you weren’t here on Friday.” And all sorts of stuff about reapplying for the course and student loans, and repaying for all of it.

I have tried SEVERAL times over the following months to contact school officials, and the president of the school, only to be repeatedly ignored.

The way I see it, I felt that I had no other choice but to try to go to school, even though it was not safe, because they had threatened to kick me out.

Because of this, I lost $15’000 with damages to my truck, am going to lose $20’000 for schooling that I was kicked out of, was unable to work for 2 weeks after the accident and lost my job as a result, and have continuing, HORRIFIC nightmares about the accident.

My question is, what can I do? Am I able to sue the school for tuition and/or damages because it was them that tried to force me to attend that day? Or am I just SOL??

Any advice is GREATLY appreciated!!
Topic:
Canada

Answer: You got no case here. No one forced you to drive. The school is not responsible for how you get there, only that you ARE there. My assumption is that you may have had some attendance issues prior to the 2/22 text message. That text message being your "final warning" since they wouldn't kick you out for one day absence. Sorry but what this sounds like to me is you messed up and want to be compensated for it. Which isn't how it works.


Title: About the Healthy SF charge my employer has collected from Customers...

Question:
	Briefly, I am a waitress at a restaurant in San Francisco.  I have been working there for approximately 3

years, and since the beginning of my hiring I have noticed on our guest receipts, there is a 3% charge that is labeled as “SF Healthy fee”. When I asked my employer (who is the owner of the Restaurant) what this was, I was given a very cryptic, ambiguous answer that wasn’t very understandable. I was unable to get an answer from the owner as to how this charge applied to me, so I asked the floor manager at the time if he knew what this charge was. Again, he gave me an answer that didn’t make much sense. Every manager I spoke to was never explained what this charge exactly was.

Two years into working at this restaurant and not getting any answers, I finally took it upon myself to figure out what this charge was. I found the phone number on Health SF’s website and talked to a representative, and gathered information as to what this charge was and how it applied to me. It was explained to me that if an employer has more than 20 employees (my restaurant has 24 employees), they have to provide some form of health care for their employees. One such way is to go through Healthy SF, and charge their customers a small fee that goes into an account for the employees. Then, based on how much an employee works, they accumulate an amount into an account that can be used to refund health related expenses, so long as they are able to submit a receipt of the medical cost. They also said that employers must have an itemized list of all of their employees at all times through Healthy SF if they choose this method.

I asked if I had an account, the rep I spoke to tried to look me up, and I did not find me. They told me to talk to my employer, as there may have been a mistake made. So I talked to the owner the next day and explained that I spoke to Healthy SF and that they could not find me. He gave me a vague response and said he was doing things a different way, and that he could actually do the health care privately without using Healthy SF. This didn’t make much sense to me, but he quickly told me that he would refund my medical expenses that I accumulated while employed at there, but I needed to give him itemized copies of medical receipts and he would “take care of it”. He figured I had accumulated $2,600 in my Healthy SF account (by looking up my hours worked). I am confused since he said he’s not going through Healthy SF, yet he keeps referring to my Healthy SF account (that the Healthy SF rep I spoke to couldn’t find…)

I had many doctors visits while working the past 2 years at there, so it took my months to hunt down receipts (as many places could not email them to me for privacy matters) and to remember all of the medical visits I had. These receipts showed that I had spent $600 on medical expenses since working there, including some for acupuncture visits for my back pain. When I finally collected all of receipts, the owner told me to give them to him and he would “submit them” to Healthy SF (which, again, confused me. He had told me he was doing the medical “privately”. His story wasn’t making sense). I felt uneasy handing him over my very personal and detailed medical information, but this seemed to be the only way to have it refunded, according to him. I think it’s also important to mention he was very careful not to respond via email or text about this. He would always wait until he saw me to talk about this, as if he were hiding something.

It took another month, and the owner finally gave me a handwritten personal check for the amount. Jumping ahead, a few months later I submitted another receipt for more medical related expenses, one of which was for a dental visit. He shows me on his computer that Dental is not included with Healthy SF (by pointing to their website), and then proceeds to tell me that the acupuncture I had refunded previously should not have been refunded either. I am not only confused how it would have been refunded if the owner was  going through Healthy SF, but also why he keeps referring to Healthy SF if he had claimed he wasn’t going through them previously. His story still doesn’t make sense.

Finally, I recently submitted a $250 bill to him for Chiropractic sessions I had at a Chiropractic in SF. I had it refunded with another handwritten check from him. Then, a few weeks later, I submitted $600 in receipts for more Chiropractic sessions and an $89 doctors visit at an urgent care for an ear infection I had. the Owner sits me down in his office and shows me the Healthy SF website and, apparently,  Healthy SF does not cover Chiropractic. At this point, I have a feeling something is very wrong here since the same Chiropractic sessions were previously refunded. Before inquiring about the other $89, I decide to call Healthy SF again.
I called Healthy SF and spoke to a representative. I told her what was going on, and that I was worried that there may be something illegal going on, and before accepting any more checks that I wanted to make sure I wasn’t participating in anything fraudulent.

She told me that based on everything I told her, something was very wrong. Just by having submitted all of my private medical information, my right to medical privacy was being breached and to stop giving him that info. She said she couldn’t imagine a health program, private or otherwise, that would require giving my employer very personal medical info. She told me to talk to my employer and ask exactly what insurer he was going through. If he was collecting money from guest and saying it was for his employee’s health care, but it wasn’t being done through Healthy SF (when it said so on the guests receipts), that was fraud.   I asked her if he had never set up a legitimate account for me, if I would be eligible to receive the money in my account that I should have accumulated my years of working at the restaurant, she said no, that he would have to write me a check refunding me that amount.

That leads me to needing your help. Since it is my suspicion that the owner has lied to me already, I don’t want to speak to him any more regarding this situation. I have just put in my two weeks notice  (I felt so violated after divulging my private medical info to him I no longer want to work around him) I felt like it is important to talk to you guys, because however I proceed, I want to make sure it is not contributing to an illegal or fraudulent activity. I no longer feel comfortable with handling the situation myself without help, if there is something illegal taking place on my employer’s behalf. I have contacted a lawyer, but they didn't take my case. should I try another? Has anyone had this sort of problem?

Answer: Yes, you should contact another lawyer.  This company is committing fraud by collecting money on the employees behalves for health related expenses, not informing them of it, lying that it is through Healthy SF, and pocketing the cash for themselves -almost $20,000 a year!  Wouldn't this be a class action lawsuit?


Title: Who owns the code when a freelancer is hired?

Question:
I live in California and hired a freelancer in New York through Upwork. Upwork’s terms state that the author of the “Work Product” is the client (me) after the freelancer is paid. The freelancer delivered the app, but argues that the code belongs to them. “Work Product” isn’t defined as including code or not in the terms. They’re willing to release the code if I put them on retainer for a year, so the only way I can continue working on the app is if I hire them long term. At this point it feels like they’re holding the code hostage unless they get hired long term. Is my perspective inaccurate? Who owns the code in this situation? Also, I reached out to Upwork for clarification but won’t hear back from them until tomorrow at the earliest. Thanks!
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 That sounds like nonsense. The programmer didn't program an executable application; they programmed code. The compiler produced the executable application. The product of the work you paid for is the code.

Their logic is like paying someone to make you a car, then having them argue that all you paid for was the right to ride in the car but that they own the vehicle.


Title: [Texas][Ohio] Wife denied mandatory probation transfer because of lying parole officer.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Didn't read the whole thing. The moment she denied him entry she violated her probation.


Title: Is accepting counterfeit money illegal?

Question: I work in retail and last night a customer made a $540 purchase using 10 obviously fake 50s and three 20s (I could tell the 50s we're fake from touch, seemed to be cardstock and the print was low quality, speckles where it should've been blank) I hadn't been told what to do in that situation and didn't want to risk my safety for the stores bottom line so I accepted the money and gave him his change. I was later informed I was supposed to do exactly what I did. I just want to make sure I can't be charged federally for passing on fake money and if I need to contact the police or my store will take care of it.

Answer: You did fine; you never know what his reaction would be at being caught. It will depend on what your store's general policy is, but generally *someone* should contact the police, who will then alert the Secret Service.


Title: [GA] I think my physician's office may be doing something fraudulent or unethical with billing my insurance.

Question:
**My main question is: did First Health Network change their provider reimbursement rates in 2017? If so, can you please tell me when this change happened?**  I recently learned in a health insurance obstacle and patient satisfaction seminar that a growing, and concerning trend, is that physicians will leave networks mid-year due to abrupt or exorbitant decreases in provider reimbursement (completely reasonable IMO). Before this seminar I was under the impression that physicians have a contract with networks until the open enrollment period, much like a patient does. Here's why I am concerned that my physician's office may be doing something unethical (or at least dishonest) to get a more profitable reimbursement from my annual wellness visit:

* I have been a First Health patient for the past 10 years, albeit under different plans and groups the network was the same. I called the office Spring 2017 to make my annual wellness exam appointment, set it up in the Summer of 2017 (about 2-3 months in advance). I ask if they are still First Health, office staff confirmed they are. I informed them that my plan is completely different but my network is the same, I am told because it is an annual wellness exam it will be 100% covered (I save up $100 just in case because I am getting older and wanted to be prepared for additional labs/exams).

* I get a reminder call a week ahead, I ask if they looked into my new insurance information provided. I am assured because they are still in network everything is anticipated to be covered 100%.

* Post exam I am told I shouldn't owe anything but I will be sent a bill if anything is not covered.

* They wait to bill my wellness exam for at least 4 weeks later, which is unusually late for this office. I know this because 8 weeks after my exam I get a bill for the full price and my insurance wasn't even listed. I call my doctor and I am informed that at the time of billing I was not covered under the plan information provided. I look into the matter, and it turns out that with my student health insurance there is a 2-3 week limbo in between semester changes where I actually AM covered but the switch from semester A plan to semester B plans messes up their system. Regardless, I am assured that I never lost coverage and my insurance asks me to send them the bill. The limbo period started at least 4 weeks after my exam, and my insurance company said that my doctor must have submitted my bill between 4-7 weeks post appointment. My insurance also tells me that they do NOT process retroactively: aka they will not bill my Semester A appointment to my Semester A plan, but that they will bill it with my Semester B plan and it will be covered in full (and that this bill is now prioritized and payment expedited). I call my doctor to inform them that they must have submitted my bill during the limbo period, but I do not ask why it was billed so late. I inform them that payment is on it's way ASAP.

* 6 weeks later (now 14 weeks post wellness exam) I get a hostile and threatening phone call from the front office saying that I still owe them money and that I need to pay RIGHT NOW. **When I ask questions about if my insurance contacted them or sent any form of payment the front office staff is belligerent, threatening, and evasive** (I honestly was just trying to get the timeline straight for when I called my insurance company who repeatedly drops the ball). I am still under the impression that my insurance has yet to pay the full $300 amount, but I am not surprised because I had a delayed reimbursement for another bill. I apologize and promise to get it straightened out immediately.

* I call my insurance (two days ago), and they inform me that the bill HAD been processed, but **by the time the original bill was sent (4-7 wks post exam, limbo period) my doctor had left the First Health Network. The FOS refused to tell me that my insurance had been processed and partial payment received** (this is a big red flag for me). My insurance only covered 50%,and the remaining 50% of the bill is my responsibility (**I plan to pay first thing tomorrow morning when the office opens**). The charges are for an out of network service (obviously was under the impression, and assured by FOS, this office was in network). My insurance was not able to tell me exactly WHEN my doctor left the First Health Network.

**To be 100% clear, I have every intention of paying my full balance tomorrow morning once they open. I would like to be certain this is an honest, accurate bill.** I realize this could be intentional or accidental, but at the time of my service my physician was (allegedly) in network. I am legitimately concerned that my physician left the First Health Network sometime between my wellness exam and submitting my bill to insurance. It seems reasonable to believe my insurance lowered the provider reimbursement rate to an unsatisfactory level and my physician left the network. From what I understand, by having me pay 50% of the bill out of pocket my physician would get 100% reimbursement if my insurance covered the other 50%. It is a small private practice, and in the past I have always received a bill for $0.00 from this office documenting my visit coverage within 2 weeks of my appointment as they normally bill within 24 hours. The same front office staff person that has been there 5 years is the ONLY employee besides the physician: extremely delayed billing, hostility, evasiveness, and threats are all suspiciously unusual. **If you have any information about First Health Network changes of any sort during 2017 please let me know!**

Answer:
 Doctors bills are due AT TIME OF SERVICE. They cannot wait and bill you a higher amount because the doctor left the service. That would be like me going to Great Wolf Lodge with the kids this year and then them sending me a bill next year because they raised their rates after we stayed.

Wife worked for BCBS and this happens a lot because doctors have up to 1 year to send in the bill then they demand extra and its a whole fight. Answer #2: Contact insurance provider. Ask for the fraud department. Make a report.


Title: [MO] Coworker was rude to the owner’s son, he left in the middle of the shift, can she legally be fired?

Question:
This happened about an hour ago.

My coworker and I are both college students, the owner’s son is mid 20s. We work at a lesser known chain coffee shop.

My coworker showed up for her shift as I was leaving, and she said to the owner’s son “How come you never wear the work uniform, let alone wear an apron?” Her tone wasn’t the nicest but it definitely wasn’t yelling or the worst I’ve heard.

The owner’s son then proceeded to sit down in the back, look at his phone, look at me, and say “I don’t know how to deal with this right now.”

I didn’t say anything, went up front to grab the rest of my things, and then he just left.

Our boss has been out sick all week and he has been covering for her, I’m not sure if he’s even on the payroll because he’s not registered in our sign-in machine.

My coworker called the owner and explained what happened, and the owner told my coworker to apologize for her tone because her son is going through a hard time, and that him not wearing the uniform isn’t really that big of a deal.

I currently have to stay to help work and miss my class, because the owner’s son said he “is too ill to work and can’t come back in today or tomorrow.” Even though he was working perfectly fine with me all morning.

My coworker is afraid she’s going to be fired because of what she said to the owner’s son, who might not be a real employee.

If she does get fired, is this legal? What is her course of action if she does get fired?

Answer:
 > If she does get fired, is this legal?

Yes.

> What is her course of action if she does get fired?

File for unemployment and find a new job.
Answer #2: She can absolutely be fired.  Being rude isn't a protected class.

If she's fired, she can file for unemployment.

Also, if she's fired, she can use that time to reflect on how she communicates with others, because I'd be willing to bet money that she uses that same tone with customers and that's not good for business.Answer #3: What's legal isn't always what's fair.  Unless you're a union shop, which obviously you're not, there is very little protection.
She should start looking for another job.  Nepotism sucks.


Title: I have a possible HIPPA violation situation at my workplace and could use some advice on proceeding with HR/Employee Relations.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 What medical conditions? Its undiagnosed. You can't self diagnosis yourself. Your boss is doing you a favor by telling you how to get an accommodation as without the diagnosis theres nothing here to accommodate.

Sheesh. Answer #2: **HIPAA** only applies to medical professionals who, through the course of their job duties, encounter protected health information which they are not permitted to share. Your employers do not count in this situation.

And unless you have a contract, she could have fired you on the spot for falling asleep at your desk. Answer #3: HIPPA doesn't apply to disclosing medical conditions in the workforce.  It's in poor taste but she can disclose it.  Not sure if sleep apnea is covered under ADA so I would presume she can put a time limit on it.  Talk to HR and see.


Title: Does a private park that's open to the public have to allow service dogs? [CA]

Question:
I live close to a park that's privately owned but open to the public. I bring my service dog with me to the park frequently. Today a security guard told me no dogs were allowed in the park. I told him she's a service dog, and he said it didn't matter, that he had been told that dogs are allowed to pass through the park on a leash, but not to hang out. I told him I was legally entitled under the ADA to have my service dog with me, and he should let his boss know that. They called the cops on me.

One cop came up to me and said the management wanted me to leave. I explained that she's a service dog so I had the right to enjoy the park with her with me. The cop said I should go up to the management office to talk to the park manager, so I did. But it was just an assistant manager who told me "no dogs allowed." I asked if he was familiar with the ADA, and he asked if I had a certificate for my dog. I told him there's no certification required, but my dog is a service dog, and we have the legal right to be in the park. He asked me to write down my name and number and "my side of things" for the manager. I did and said that I was going to continue to enjoy the park today. The assistant manager told the cop to let me be. I stayed in the park for five more minutes to prove my point but then I had somewhere to be.

So, I'm expecting a phone call from the park manager. When I wrote down "my side" I said that I would like an apology. I'm 99% sure I'm right here, but I'm here to double check. A privately owned park that is open to the public is a public accommodation and covered by ADA, right?

From their web site: "--- is owned by the successor agency to the Redevelopment Agency of the City and County of ------------, known as the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure. A private property management firm manages ---."

Topic:
Disability Issues

Answer: What type of service does your dog provide?


Title: Me and a friend were caught with weed last night and I need to know what I can expect and how I should handle this.

Question:
So I'm 16 and me and a friend were driving and smoking.  It was after 11 which is the curfew for drivers my age in my state.  He was driving and had only taken 1 hit and I was pretty stoned.  We were in my car and we were cooperative.  When she asked if we had been smoking I said yes and gave her the bowl, weed, and lighter.  I told her my friend wasn't smoking and judging from what she told both my parents and my school I think she believed us.  We were also in our school's parking lot, which the officer said means they will have to tell the school.  Neither of us have ever had any trouble with the law and I've always been an honors student.  I need to know what I can expect as punishment, what I should do to make the fallout of this as minimal as possible, and if there is any chance of me getting expunged.

Edit: I live in Pennsylvania, in a town near Philadelphia.  My charges are possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.

Answer: Smoking while driving, underage, on school property, past curfew, and you freely admitted breaking the law. You will need to find a lawyer for this.


Title: Receptionist gives false information that costs my aunt thousands of dollars (WI)

Question:
My aunt needs bone marrow and my mom was going to donate to her since they're sisters and are a perfect math. However, my mother has had trouble with her platelets meaning that she doesn't have many. My mom thought it would be an issue with her donating.

My mother called the doctors office or hospital (not sure) and asked if it would be okay for her to donate since she had blood issues. The receptionist put her on hold and presumably asked someone if it was okay.

She replied that my mom would be fine to donate and that they give out platlets like coke (don't understand the simile but it's what she said).

This leads my aunt to have to prepare to receive my mom's blood such as spending thousands of dollars for CT scans among various other things. To learn a month later that my mom can't donate because she doesn't have many platlets.
 Is there anything my mom or aunt can do? My mom was literally going to save my aunt's life through doing this and now a good amount of hope and money is lost.
Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer:
 Why was she taking medical advice from a receptionist? She should have come in to see a doctor to get tested to see if she was actually a match and if she could donate and your aunt could receive the donation.Answer #2: IANAL;

Sounds like you guys jumped the gun.  A receptionist does not have any duty regarding medical advice towards your mother or grandmother; but I agree it was irresponsible of her to answer the question in the first place.


Title: Can I my employer post pictures of me on their public Facebook page if I tell them not to?

Question:
I am resigning from my position today with a two weeks notice but later today, after normal working hours there is a meeting that my employer is forcing me to go to. They’ve said it’s mandatory and we will be paid over time. I, along with all of my other coworkers, have never been required to go to this meeting and they are only making us go to have our picture taken with a supervisor they are appointing from outside the company that none of us agree with them putting in the position.

I especially disagree from a moral standpoint as well as a professional one. Which is why I am resigning. My employer knows this.

Can they require me to have my picture taken and then post it on their public Facebook page if I tell them no?

Answer: The 13th amendment abolished slavery. You are free to refuse to show up. They may immediately terminate you if you do.  If you show up and let them take the picture they will pretty much have an unlimited right to use it unless they use it in a misleading way.


Title: (NY) Is the hoverboard/segway really illegal in NYC?

Question:
I've heard lots of news stories stating that according to NYC Admin Code 19-176.2* , hoverboards are illegal.

But these two statements seem to invalidate it:

* "For purposes of this section, the term 'motorized scooter' shall mean any wheeled device that has handlebars..." — the hoverboards do not have handlebars.
* "For the purposes of this section, the term 'motorized scooter' shall not include electric powered devices not capable of exceeding fifteen miles per hour..."  (they can't)

If they were motor vehicles, I could see it being illegal. What is a motor vehicle as defined in NY?

Here are the specs of most of them:

* Self balancing
* Can't go more than 10mph
* Weigh less than 25 lbs
* Run on electric battery packs

Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: I can't speak for the legalities of it, but from a practical perspective they don't appear to be an issue at all. I've been seeing these things *all over* NYC and the cops don't seem to give a shit. Just yesterday I saw a dude on a 1-wheeled gyroscopic board-like doohickey almost face-plant right in front of a cop, and the cop didn't so much as lift an eyebrow.


Title: So i cashed my paychecks in NYC three years ago and they bounced. i assume they can't find the business owner (who signed the checks) and are now coming after me for the money. what should i do?

Question: needless to say this money was spent a long time ago. am i liable for this money?  is the corporation/business owner? ADP who continuously allowed these checks to be issued? the bank who continually allowed these checks to be issued? what do i need to do to make this go away?

Answer: I think I have a better hold on the situation than the others do: three years ago, you cashed some checks from your employer (whose payroll is handled by ADP). As in, you didn't deposit them in your bank account, but they handed you dollar bills and you left. The checks bounced. Now a debt collector on behalf of the check cashing shop is contacting you. Is that right?


Title: Update: (California) My Company is Asking Me to Sign an Internal NDA

Question:
Original post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3fdody/my_company_is_asking_me_to_sign_an_internal_nda/

I asked my program manager to help me resolve the contradictions in what I was being asked to do, ie. keep my external collaborations in my yearly goals as well as sign an NDA saying that I won't communicate any information inside the company or outside. I was given the run around and was never given an answer. Eventually I was told that it had been communicated that I was refusing to sign the NDA. I was laid off a day later and my company was sold for $10B less than a week later.

Thanks for the info and always CYA, big companies have a lot of yes men.

Answer:
 File for unemployment. Answer #2: very likely the NDA was requested as part of the sale process by the purchaser, who just wanted to see the NDAs signed according to the template without caring about anyone's individual scenarios.

did you sign an invention assignment agreement as part of the process?


Title: Roommate claims she tripped over my cat, wants money for medical visit

Question: My roommate claims my cat tripped her while she was going up the stairs and caused her to hit her head on the wall while she was the only one home. She says she's gone to a doctor, and she would like me to pay for her doctor's visit. Am I liable for this, and could she take me to small claims court over it? I am in California.

Answer:
 She could try to take you to small claims, but it doesn't sound like she would have much of a case for it. She would need to offer some sort of evidence that your cat was responsible for the tripping, *and* that this was an unusual or unreasonable risk that was your fault, and something she couldn't predict.

If she didn't know you owned a cat until she was suddenly tripped by it while climbing the stairs, she might have a case. Did you surprise her with Sudden Cat? Because I'm guessing no.Answer #2: For future reference, buy renter's insurance, which can help cover you for stuff like this.


Title: Is SONY in violation of it's own user agreement with the mass IP blocking?

Question:
I'm in Texas, USA, and we have a PS4 connected and access the PSN (playstation Network). Sony is blocking any IP that has shown signs of Terms of Use (ToU) Violations or any that have been reported by 3rd party. This is being done automatically, and I believe it to be a CYA tactic in case of future Customer Information theft.

Our internet provider has dynamic IP's for residential customers that change every "up to 72 hours" and it seems that a number of the ones I'm getting have been blocked for violations of user agreements in the past. My ISP cannot change my CPE IP at the local or regional level.

This has happened 2x in the last 2 weeks. I had to exchange a ISP provided router to fix the problem last time. My ISP is providing the service they agreed to, and I can access the internet fully, except for PSN. Sony customer service can/will not unblock the IP's even after verifying we have no record of ToU Violations.

1) Is SONY at fault for keeping a blocked IP blocked even after appeal from a valid user for unblocking?

2) Is SONY, at least, responsible for adding time to the end of our PSN agreement? Or refunding the lost time from trying to reset IP's via hardware power cycling? (In my case it is advised to be 10 - 12 hours of being unplugged)

3) Would this be profitable for a lawyer to pursue in a class action sense?

I know I'm frustrated by the situation, and I may not be seeing everything, but I want this type of a problem to not have to affect me again, or anyone else.

Answer:
 IANAL, but I can answer your third question as a no.  Sony quite a few years ago changed their Terms of Service to include the following language on how to resolve disputes:

>If you have a Dispute with any Sony Entity or any of a Sony Entity's officers, directors, employees and agents that cannot be resolved through negotiation within the time frame described in the "Notice of Dispute" clause below, you and the Sony Entity that you have a Dispute with agree to seek resolution of the Dispute only through arbitration of that Dispute in accordance with the terms of this section, and not litigate any Dispute in court, except for those matters listed in the Exclusions from Arbitration clause. Arbitration means that the Dispute will be resolved by a neutral arbitrator instead of in a court by a judge or jury.

Also, there is this to consider:

>Class Action Waiver. ANY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEEDINGS, WHETHER IN ARBITRATION OR COURT, WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR AS A NAMED OR UNNAMED MEMBER IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION, UNLESS BOTH YOU AND THE SONY ENTITY WITH WHICH YOU HAVE A DISPUTE SPECIFICALLY AGREE TO DO SO IN WRITING FOLLOWING INITIATION OF THE ARBITRATION. THIS PROVISION DOES NOT PRECLUDE YOUR PARTICIPATION AS A MEMBER IN A CLASS ACTION FILED ON OR BEFORE AUGUST 20, 2011. THIS PROVISION IS NOT APPLICABLE TO THE EXTENT SUCH WAIVER IS PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Your only remedy in pursuing this in court would have been to opt out of this clause within 30 days of accepting the ToS of PSN in writing, but even then, your ability to pursue this as a class action would be severely hampered.


Title: [FL] I was slapped at work

Question:
Another employee slapped me. I told management. A few days later I was told that he apologized ( admitted ) for what he did. He is still employed even though there is a zero tolerance  policy for workplace violence.

Yesterday someone made a disgusting sexual comment to me.

I also have a journal of other incidents with dates, times, names, etc

Answer:
 Has he slapped you or otherwise harassed you since?

Did you report the other comment to management?

Your employer's obligation is to take reasonable steps to correct behavior. They don't have to fire people. If you were slapped, you can call the police.


Title: Employer took out unauthorized and unexpected deductions to pay for a mistake THEY made

Question:
I've been doing a lot of research on this subject and I haven't been able to find much information regarding my specific situation.

Here are all of the facts:
I live in Denver, CO and I work for a married couple who are the owners of two small businesses.  Back in June, I turned 26, which meant I lost insurance through my parents.  My employer offered to have me sign up with their medical insurance plan, although they said they wouldn't pay in to my premium since I wasn't technically full-time (even though I was working upwards of 35 hours/week).  That was fine with me, since I just needed coverage and it didn't really matter to me if they were paying into it or not.

I started my coverage at the beginning of July, but didn't see any deductions at first.  I wasn't sure how medical insurance worked, so I thought maybe it was normal... maybe you paid at the end of the month?  All I knew was that half of the premium was deducted from every paycheck since we were paid twice a month.  I decided to ask at the end of July about the payments.  My premium was $211.94 per month, and I was charged half of my premium on my August 1st paycheck ($105.97).  Before my next paycheck came through, one of the owners, we'll call him M, came in and talked with me about how they made a mistake, and they would actually need to deduct more money from my paycheck to make up for what I hadn't paid already.  They seemed like nice people so far and I had been working for their company for months at this point, so we made a verbal agreement that I would pay $158.96 each paycheck for four paychecks to cover the premium cost for July, and then it would go back to half of the premium ($105.97).  So, like they said, they deducted $158.96 for August 16, September 1, September 15, and September 29.  Four paychecks.  During this time, I told them I would like to add my husband on to the policy as soon as we were married.  They said I could do this on my own and it wouldn't be a problem.  Then, on my paycheck for October 16, they deducted $119.22.  This is when I started to question things, because...

A bit of backstory: this was right after my wedding and right around the time of my honeymoon, so things were a bit crazy.  I was referred to our insurance broker for literally every insurance question I had before, so I tried to contact her, but she was out of the country until the 26th (the day we got back from our honeymoon), and I left a message for her.  I knew it wasn't wise to contact the owners because I was beginning to not trust them.  One of them, whom I will refer to as H, was totally open about telling us all that they were $100,000 in debt and had no clue how they were going to dig their way out.  The week before we went on our honeymoon, they coerced two of the directors at my location to sign a contract they had never read with the ultimatum that if they didn't, they had to pack up their things and quit their job right then and there (which I know is absolutely 100% illegal).  The directors ended up signing the unread contract since they felt they had no other choice, and it turns out their pay was cut by almost 50%... a $1,000 cut per month.  Being in the industry we're in (child development), we don't get paid much in the first place.  Amidst this chaos, I was told that there was a position as Program Director open at another location.  Everyone I worked with, including the owners knew I was interested in this position from day one, so I had an interview there on Thursday October 19.  The Administrative Director quit the Friday before my honeymoon.  That day, the owner, H, came in and passive aggressively told me how happy she was for me that I had an opportunity at this other location.  She also brought us all flowers (she brings gifts after she does something awful... I've seen it a million times before).  I knew things were heading south.  Then, while I was on my honeymoon, I started receiving scheduling updates from work.  I was extremely confused and contacted my supervisor, the Program Director, for clarification.  She informed me that she didn't want to tell me while I was on my honeymoon, but she had just been laid off that Tuesday after the AD quit, and she wouldn't be able to provide me with any more guidance on the matter.  I immediately knew this was the owner's way of trying to keep me at her center, because her opinion of me was, "Oh, (hlcbennett) will just come in and do ___ for us!"  "(hlcbennett) can do the AD's job while she's out for a couple of days."  "We're having this 'popsicle meeting' that I scheduled myself and I didn't buy popsicles... better text (hlcbennett) because I know she'll buy some for me!"

Cue freak-out mode.  I had to leave our honeymoon early since I had to be at work that Thursday (our honeymoon was Monday-Thursday) to help my coworkers pick up the pieces.  I had received a call from my former PD that she had been talking with the other location, the one I interviewed at, and they said they weren't comfortable offering me the job unless I put my resignation in at my current location.  So, before I went in to work, I typed up a resignation letter.  I was ready to be out of there.  I delivered it that day, through lots of tears, because I was upset that our once bulletproof, relentless, amazing team had fallen apart so quickly, and I knew I would be leaving the remainder of the staff and all the kiddos and families I had grown to love behind.  It was awful.

I gave the insurance broker a few business days to contact me, but she never did.  I had to call and email her multiple times before she returned my call, only to not be able to provide me with any information regarding even what my premium was supposed to be.  I also asked about how insurance premiums are paid... she said they are paid one entire month ahead of time, so I would have to pay my husband's premium for the month of December in November.  She told me to contact the owners for more information.  I still didn't really want to do this, so I called around, asked my Center Director for guidance, etc.  Then, on November 1st, $119.22 was deducted from my paycheck again.

On November 2, I emailed H.  All I said was I tried to contact Joan but she couldn't provide me with any information about my premium.  She emailed me back that day, November 2, and said this, literally copied and pasted from my email with some editing for privacy reasons... all things in parentheses are from me:

>I'm sorry you were told to contact (J), I am the main point of contact for the insurance threw The Company.  However, this is perfect timing, I am getting ready to check in with you anyhow about insurance due to your recent resignation to pursue a awesome opportunity at (location).  However much we will miss you at (location) I know this is a great opportunity for you. I am so excited for you!  So back to the insurance, I left you a message letting you know we have 30 days.  I also sent (CD) the way to add (husband).  Even if you don't work for me I would love to offer you the State continuation option.  I think the rates are great with this (insurance) plan and would love to help you out in any way. I need to get the date you are paid thru for you if your not interested in State Continuation. Your premium is 211.94.  I think that is so weird you don't get that mailed to you.

Wow, it sounded like she was actually happy for me!  So I'm sure it wouldn't be a stretch to get this whole incorrect deductions thing taken care of.  Piece of cake, right?  So, I emailed her this:

>Thank you so much for getting back to me right away!
That's the premium I thought I had.  I received my explanation of benefits, but I don't think I received info on how much my premium would be.  I remember that this was something that was simply emailed to the center by (J).  For the last two paychecks, $119.22 has been deducted for (insurance) instead of $105.97, so I've been really confused since I found that.  I know that (J) has been able to answer questions about my policy in the past, and that she was the one that originally told us what the premium was, so I was really shocked when she refused to tell me.
(Questions about another insurance policy other than this one...)
Thank you for the help!  We'll talk soon.

The next day at work, I added my husband to my insurance plan, because it sounded like it was going to work out and the deductions were just an innocent clerical error.  This is what she said when she emailed me back that evening:

>As promised I am checking back in.  I saw your note on the premium and we are looking into it asap.  Thanks!
(Staff member) informed me you enrolled (husband) tonight into (insurance).  My initial email about how you could enroll (husband) was pre-resignation.

Now, let me interrupt here for a second.  She JUST told me the day before that she sent the CD info on how to add my husband to the insurance, after she learned I was resigning.  She even said, and I quote, "I also sent (CD) the way to add (husband).  Even if you don't work for me I would love to offer you the State continuation option."  So why is she angry now?  I only asked some clarification on the deductions being a bit off.  But I digress...

>Now that you enrolled (husband) I assume this means you are interested in the State Continuation that I mentioned to you last night?  As a part time employee these benefits are not typically offered, I was extending the offer as a gift to you, you did not mention any interest in your last email. I am happy we can assist you, however I do need to be in the loop.  I now need a resignation letter from you so I can calculate numbers from your last day of employment with The Company and get your plan on track for the future.  Please do not make any other adjustments to the (insurance) policy without conferring with me.

Um... okay... that didn't go according to plan.  We kept emailing about the issue, but it goes back and forth between her being really helpful and really spiteful.  Here is another email from her:

>Thank you for your patience.  Attached you will find several documents that will answer all of your questions.
As you investigate the paperwork you will find that there is still  debt to the Company for $79.49 due to the errors in Director communication when the enrollment was done.   However we acknowledge this was missed by The Company and will not be collecting this amount from you at this time.  We understand what it was like to be newlyweds and this is not the time for a surprise!
So the total deduction we will take on the next check for (insurance) is 216.16 for (husband) plus 105.97 for half your premium. The dual deductions of $119.22 were a clerical error, thank you for catching it!

Admission of fault with no offer of reimbursement for their own errors.  This is also the first time I had ever heard of me owing them money for anything... even if they weren't going to make me pay the difference, it would have been nice to be in the loop.  If they didn't tell me before, then why is she bringing it up now?  I asked for clarification, and all she said was:
>Please review the last email sent and feel free to reach out to (M) if you need further clarification.

I asked for his email and emailed him this:
>Hi, (M),
(H) and I have been chatting about paystubs, insurance, etc.  It came to my attention that I had too much taken out of my paycheck for (insurance) for two paychecks.  The amount I should be paying every two weeks for myself is $105.97, but $119.22 was taken out of my account for two paychecks, which means I paid $26.50 more than I should have.  She acknowledged this was true but couldn't confirm that I would be reimbursed this amount on my paycheck... my paystub doesn't reflect a reimbursement for this amount, either.
Also, I had a few questions about the state continuation of my health insurance:
How long can I continue coverage?  I have heard both up to 12 months and up to 18 months from different sources and I need know in order to plan insurance coverage in the future.
Would we just send you a check at the beginning of the month for our premiums?  Or is there another way I could pay the premium directly through (insurance) and/or online?
This is more of a general insurance question, but once I lose coverage, will I be automatically eligible to sign up for medical insurance through my new employer, even if the enrollment period was not open?  I believe this is a qualifying event and means I can sign up immediately if my (insurance) coverage stops for any reason.
Thank you!

Then, he emailed me this:

>I do not understand how you think that the Company has taken to much out of your checks. An email with attachments was sent to you to clear this up. Please let me know if I am missing some other information.
Let me break it down:
Paid to (insurance) for you 1059.70
Amount you paid 980.25
Total amount that you have under paid and still owe the Company 79.49.
I will look into your other question and will let you know. Please let me know if you have any further questions on regards to your deductions.

So now they're asking me to pay them???  What is going on???  Before doing any research at all, I went with my gut and emailed this back to M.

>When you had to take $158.96 out of each paycheck, you told me this would be for four paychecks and it was to cover the month of July that hadn't been paid for yet, which I understood... and that after those four paychecks, it would go back to $105.97 per paycheck, all of which I authorized.  Instead, $119.22 was deducted from two paychecks instead of $105.97.  I'm unsure of where this came from since I did not authorize this change.  I understand that there were a few errors made here on the Company's behalf, but once again, $119.22 is not the amount that should be coming out of my paychecks for my insurance.  If the deductions were an error, I should have been paying $105.97 in to my insurance as I was told would happen after the four deductions of $158.96... and I should be reimbursed for that extra $26.50 that was deducted.  If the deductions were not an error and instead intentional to make up for the money that was owed to (insurance), it should have been brought to my attention so I could authorize this before a change was made regarding deductions from my paycheck.

Of course, I didn't talk about how they were legally obligated to reimburse me since I hadn't done any real research, but I had a hunch.  I didn't want to provide incorrect information in any way.  From my understanding after doing some research, they can't deduct more from my paycheck than I authorize, especially in the state of Colorado.  They can't even deduct money from my paycheck if I myself make a mistake, like shorting the register or damaging something.  In this case, it's their mistake, not mine.

I haven't received an email back yet, but I did receive a call around 4pm today.  It was M, telling me to call him back since I needed "clarification on deduction-type things, so give me a call back, uh, email's not working, so give me a call back.  Thanks."  I am NOT calling him back.  I'm going to text him so I have a paper trail and physical proof of what we talked about.  I'll just say that I'll just wait until his email is working again to speak with him about this matter, because I can't call him back during normal hours of the day due to working so much (I work 4 jobs right now, one of which is my new job at the new location that is overlapping with my current location where M and H are owners; I agreed to help the center out until I couldn't anymore because they don't have much staff; the other two are super part-time jobs I had to take on because my hours started being cut drastically a few months ago and I needed to make ends meet).

I really need some guidance here.  Is getting a lawyer involved worth it?  Do I need to get a lawyer involved?  How can I resolve this issue without going that far?  Is what they're doing illegal in terms of lawful employer practices?  I'm a little lost here.  I believe I'll have to pay them directly to continue my insurance coverage, and I want to figure this out as civilly as possible so they don't take cancel my insurance unexpectedly.  I wouldn't put it past them to do whatever they feel like doing, regardless of whether it's legal or not.  Sorry for the novel, but I feel like all of that was super important.  Any and all advice is appreciated.  Thank you!

-----

tl;dr: My employer made unauthorized deductions on my paychecks. One of the owners admitted they made previous financial mistakes regarding my medical insurance and it was their fault and they didn't expect me to pay that back to them, and she also acknowledged that they took too much out for my insurance premium for the last two paychecks I received. When I asked for clarification, she directed me to the other owner, her husband, who is asking me why I'm confused and that I owe them money for the mistakes they made months ago and never mentioned to me until now.

edit: added a tl;dr
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: Holy smokes. We need a tl;dr, or distill that down to about 10% of the length.


Title: Is a recording made in a two-party consent state admissible in a one-party consent state?

Question: If the recording and the people involved were in the one-party state, and the court is in the one-party state, is the evidence admissible?

Answer:
 Your title and post are contradictory.

If the recording was obtained illegally, it doesn't become legal when you try to enter it as evidence in a jurisdiction with different laws.


Title: School counselor wants to press charges

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 TL;DR/Translation into English:

 OP, a high school senior, was in his/her/its car in the school parking lot with friends, including one smoking an e-cig.

Random Unknown Man tried to stop them from leaving the parking lot and when RUM got in front of the them, OP tapped him twice with the car.

School's VP/Counselor comes out. RUM tells VP that those in the car were smoking pot.  Car people show the e-cig, deny pot; VP agrees, no pot.

RUM says he's going to the police over the car hitting him.  Can OP really be charged?

Answer #2: In the US, citizens don't decide that other citizens get charged with crimes.  He can report you to the police if he wants.  If they think there's a crime here, they'll tell the district attorney that they think he or she should file charges against you.  The DA then may or may not file charges against you.

Separately, the counselor could sue you for any medical bills that he has, and could sue you for civil assault in your county.

You should stop discussing this case with anyone, including the police and the Internet; if the police or the counselor or the vice principal ask you any questions, politely tell them that you were advised to not say anything about the case at all without your attorney present.  If it was the police asking, at that point hire a criminal defense attorney.

Separately, the school can suspend or expel you if they feel like it.
Answer #3: Jesus Christ please use paragraphs and break up your horribly long run-on sentences. It makes it 10 times more difficult to understand what your situation is.


Title: (WI) Landlord moved people into my previous apartment without updating the electric bill, now I have 850$ to pay after 3 months?

Question:
First time posting in /r/legaladvice , so I apologize for any formatting issues.

Basically, From 12/16 to 12/17, I rented from a lady. It was sketchy, there was no lease, there was almost no way to contact her, and the management "changed" twice while i was living there. The electric bill was in my name starting on 11/30/2016, until 2/15/18.

Due to multiple unexpected raises in rent, (450$ to 470$ to 475$ to 500$ to 525$), on top of her randomly walking in to tell us things, (with no notice, mind you) I decided i had enough. I left on 11/30/2017, and turned the heat down. (If i had turned it off, the pipes could have burst.) I have printed documents of all my previous electricity bills, and I'm 100% sure either she went back in and turned the heat up, or moved somebody else in there while the bill was under my name.

When I moved in, I was told that I needed to call the electric company to get the bill changed into my name, and when I left, I'd need to let her know that i was leaving so that she could change the bill back into her name. However, nearing the end of my stay, she became unreachable. I couldn't contact her through her number, and I wasn't given an address or email to otherwise contact her. I'd had enough, and left. I left the mail key, and the door key on a ring on the banister.

Come february, I receive a bill for 800$ in the mail, along with a notice that the bill was being sent to debt collectors. My previous landlord was unreachable, so i had no idea if she had either moved somebody in, or was just letting it sit and make me pay for it. However, I have proof of a lease starting on 12/01/2018, so I think that would count as proof of residence.

TL;DR:

* I have proof that I no longer lived in that place
* I have evidence that somebody went into the apartment and turned the heat up

* I have no records showing that i tried to contact her, due to her changing her number

* I have an 855$ debt.
* I was also not given my security deposit back. (450$)

What are my options here? Do I file a complaint with the city? Do I just pay the debt and consider it a loss? Do I lawyer up?

Answer: It was up to you to change the billing. You changed it when you moved in, why wouldn't you change it back when you moved out?


Title: I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. A city truck backed up into my parked car and broke the back window and dented the back passenger door. The city claims they don't have to pay a dime even though they are at fault because this involved a city truck. What can I do? Is the city's position legal?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Have you tried this http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/law/collections-claims/damage-claims/

You'll note that you'll only potentially get any costs left after your insurance has paid.Answer #2: Have you contacted your insurance?Answer #3: This is why public entities have to have buttloads of insurance.


Title: Company says we can't discuss pay

Question: I work for an International organization in Tennessee. Recetly there has been some disparity among employees in our area regarding ever decreasing wages for new-hires. We received an email from our site manager this morning stating that it is against company policy to discuss our pay amongst ourselves. The effect of the email was that discussing pay outside of speaking with managent is a fireable offence. Are there any laws in place regarding this,and do they have the power to teinate employment based on these conversations?

Answer: There _are_ laws against this. It's illegal to fire someone for discussing wages between themselves, and it's illegal to fire someone in retaliation for discussing wages or encouraging discussing wages.Answer #2: Print out that email and save it. If you are disciplined on any way for discussing pay, contact the department of labor on your state; employers are not allowed, by law, to prevent discussion of wages, and that email is the best evidence you could ask for in any ensuing enforcement action.


Title: How do I Deposit a Check with My Deceased Grandfathers Name on it?

Question:
I was given shares of Home Depot stock as a child over the course of x amount of years. My Grandfather was the Custodial Account holder but I am now 23 and have sold the shares to afford the down payment on a house I am in the process of buying. The Check sent by Computershare has both of our names on it: "Charles ... Cust. David ... (Issuing State abbreviation"

When I Brought it to US Bank (my primary bank) to deposit it, they turned it away because his name was still on the check even though i am the one that holds the account username/password and was the one that sold the stocks to obtain the check.

What do i need to do to be able to deposit this check?

Ps. I went online to take his name off of the account but because the shares are already sold, they dont have the ability to transfer the name on an empty account. Will try calling later today, just trying to figure out where to start. We also have possession of the Death Certificate.

Answer: You might have to get the executor of his estate involved.  The executor can sign and cash checks on his behalf.


Title: KS/MN - Not going to pay small medical bill from Mayo Clinic, odds I am sued?

Question:
I live in KS with my wife and 2 kids. She went to Mayo in Dec 2014/Jan 2015 to have medical diagnostics run to figure out her pain condition. Extensive testing done, most of it paid by insurance.

A few tests not paid for, ins co (BCBS) cites "exploratory/experimental" nature of the tests that wouldn't have produced actionable clinical outcomes. Fine, but Mayo comes after me for the balance. Yawn, right?

Except if I had known that these tests wouldn't have been covered, I wouldn't have ordered them.  Bill sits with a collection agency now, and they want the $1500+ balance paid by me.

Actions already taken: I've exhausted my disputes option with BCBS to no avail (doc who ordered tests wrote letter in defense of the benefits, BCBS said they didn't receive it within the review period window).  Paid $ to a medical bill review company to see if they can clear the dispute, but they haven't produced anything in 3 months.  Not sure what else I can do.

If I say I'm just not paying, what's the likelihood they pursue legal action?  I feel like I'm safe, but not entirely sure.  Help please?

Answer:
 > if I had known that these tests wouldn't have been covered, I wouldn't have ordered them

You're responsible for knowing what your insurance does and does not cover.

/r/personalfinance has resources/advice when dealing with collections:

https://np.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/collections


Title: (FL) If I was in a cult can I make a video about my experience?

Question:
Hello!
I posted here about a little over 6 months ago. Asking for legal advice about suing my church/college for abuse and charging me money for a semester I didn't attend. Unfortunately I couldn't find a lawyer to take my case. I called everywhere and the bar multiple times and no one could help me.

So a couple of us who were banished from the cult I went to, want to make a video about the horrific things we experienced. There is about 6-8 of us.

I wanted to ask if it would be legal to use the name of the college, and church, if it would be legal to use the name of the pastors, and if it would be legal to record the church( the building from the outside)? The church is very very big(10k members) and accredited from a private university in florida.

There was a lot of negligence. Refusing medical treatment for injuries caused by them, exorcisms that ended in blackmail, and a ton of manipulation and emotional/spiritual abuse, falsely charging extra classes, and in my case whole semesters, etc.

Since I wasn't able to find a lawyer, I want to spread the word. Legally.

So to recap just want to know if it's okay to use the name of the church, the university, and names of the pastors, as well as record some of the church property to put in a video.

Thank you!

Answer:
 Good luck if the church you are going after is based in or around Ybor City. They have deep pockets and *good* lawyers.

Generally, as long as what you are saying is true, you have a defense against accusations of defamation/slander/libel.


Title: Casino dealer hand slammed reaching for players cash assuming it was a buy in.

Question:
(NV)

So this happened yesterday, I was dealing high limit. Guest was down 30k or so. He put money on the table for a re buy, I reached for said money and hand was slammed with his hand with enough force to swell my knuckles. Both my supervisor witnessed and manager witnessed the situation occur. Both said nothing, did nothing. Game resumed. I went to speak with my manager at the time who I didn't know was watching the game. Told him what had happened and his response was the player gets a little excited and that he saw everything.  I went on break 10 minutes later came back to the table shaking and asked to go home. Decided to call police and file a report with said guest and press charges. So do I have a case? Employers witness employee get harassed and physically hit and do nothing.

Thanks for advice.

Answer: It sounds like you need to file an injury report asap, and perhaps proceed with a workman's comp claim. Your employer's insurance should cover your medical payments, time off work, etc. If your employer's insurance carrier thinks they can recover their expenses from the guest, they will pursue that course of action. Otherwise, it's not really something you need to worry about.


Title: [NV] My coworker is commission paid only. She receives zero income if she performs zero services for the week. But is still required to sit 9am to 3pm 5 days a week. Other questions also...

Question:
Is it legal for *her* employer, *my salon owner*, to make her stay here for the hours I've mentioned, without even a small hourly pay?

We work in a salon, I rent my station weekly.  She is a new stylist that is trying to build a business and can't afford rent yet.  So he took her on as a commission hair stylist.

She works 9am to 3pm 5 days a week and based on how many clients she does almost always makes minimum wage or less.  Should he be paying her at least minimum wage when her income doesn't meet it?

She gets 60% of the work she does.

Any help would be great.

Answer:
 > Is it legal for our employer

One thing to recognize is that this person is not your employer if you are not an employee of them but an independent contractor. They are your client, and they have hired the services of your company--which is probably just you, the independent contractor--even if you haven't officially set up a company. *You* are your boss; you are the employer of you.

Labor laws (like overtime and minimum wage) generally apply to employees not to independent contractors. Now it's possible that y'all are improperly classified, that's something to research, but if you're renting out a space you're probably not. On the other hand, the person renting you a space cannot make unilateral decisions about when you use that space, at least not decisions that are outside of the contract.

So what does the rental contract state?Answer #2: He also refused to let her caucus.  And I didn't know of that was the same as actual voting.  I saw this for my state http://imgur.com/JdrrnOK


Title: Seminole County, FL, USA. Amazon wants me to file a police report for missing package

Question:
A week ago I bought a macbook off of Amazon. I had to taken to my local UPS store and signed for it. When I got home, the box was empty. I thought nothing on the weight of the box, because the MBP is less than 4 ounces and the majority of the contents I assume was for packaging.

I contacted Amazon and they asked for a police report in order to receive a case of a refund, not a guaranteed refund but an investigation. They said if everything was done correctly on their end then they could not refund me. I called my bank and ordered a chargeback. My bank also asked for a police report. I went down to the station and asked the officer to file a report and he said that "The burden is on Amazon or UPS to file the report, you (me) never truly had possession of the package and if a provisional credit was authorized then Amazon needs to file the report since their goods weren't actually paid for."

He basically explained that I never posessed the package and therefore it could have not been stolen from me. He asked me if I believe it was stolen rather than missing and I told him it was probably a clerical error. I asked a few more officers and they basically told me the same, thus a report wasn't filed.

Where do I go from here? Do I call my bank and explain to them what the officer said or call Amazon and ask them to file a report and send me the case number?

Answer:
 >because the MBP is less than 4 ounces

No, it is not.  It weighs about 3 1/2 pounds.  And you didn't notice the box was too light?


Title: [IL] Can maternal grandmother override "permanent custody" given to paternal grandmother?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Okay so if C did not sign over her rights or have them taken by a judge then the best MIL has is a form of temp custody. You need to get a lawyer and you need to fight the fuck out of her to stop this move. Unfortunately the Dad will be with them so I don't think it'd be kidnapping unless he has no rights either.

Edit: I am not a lawyer btw but I was a single mom at 17 and allowed my Dad temp custody of my son for a few months because I was not doing well mentally.Answer #2: Does C have a copy of a court order detailing what everyone's rights are in this situation? If so you need to take that to a lawyer and find out just how much power the MIL has and the state of C's rights to her child. You then most likely need to fight this in court to revoke whatever rights MIl has been given. I'd also say there should be a call to DCFS about the MIL in there but your lawyer will be able to tell if and when you should do that.Answer #3: You need a lawyer immediately. Without knowing exactly what the court has ordered you have no way of knowing where anybody stands with regards to custody. Hire a lawyer licensed to practice where the baby currently lives.


Title: Chase Bank employee stalking my girlfriend, now her Chase account is being hacked internally, and constantly. If it's him what action can we take?

Question:
This has been going on for a while, at least the stalking part. The money moving is new within the past 4 days. He's been making $5,000+ withdrawals everyday and giving it to the city of Chicago.

Everyday we've called and got the money back and put the account on lockdown, everyday someone unlocks it and makes more payments. They said it has to be someone inside the company doing it maliciously. If we can prove he is doing it, what is the legal recourse and is there any legal recourse against Chase?

Answer:
 The bank has an internal fraud unit.  And the logging/auditing systems are off the hook.   They can trace to the desktop and then coordinate that with cameras when and where anything to do with her account happened. Call chase corporate security and open a case.

And close the account there.

edit:wordAnswer #2: Move the money from Chase.  Close the account.  WTF are you waiting for?

Yes, you may have a claim against Chase, if you can prove that you were damaged by these issues.  For example, if a check bounced they'd have to pay the bounce charges.

BUT there is zero reason to keep your money there.  Answer #3: She also has a restraining order, not sure if that makes a differenceAnswer #4: Try the [Secret Service](http://www.secretservice.gov/contact/field-offices/) they specialize in money fraud cases, they might refer you to the FBI if it isn't quite a fit for their mission.Answer #5: Can you ask her employer if they will cut paper checks until this is resolved? Open an account at a local bank to use in the mean time and update the direct deposit. Answer #6: I'm interested to know how this resolves.


Title: Using a personal loan to pay student loan then going bankrupt?

Question:
Beyond trashing credit score are there any other ramifications for taking out a loan, using that money to pay off student loans then going bankrupt?

Additionally are there ramifications for using loan money to gift someone else money, say paying for their student loan, and then filing for bankruptcy?

Answer:
 Yeah, that would be fraud.

I'd imagine the most common penalty would be the refusal to discharge the debt.Answer #2: not only is it fraud, it wouldn't work - if the loan is used in any way to pay for education expenses, including past dues, it is pressumed to not be dischargable. The same test would apply and gain you nothing. Answer #3: Yes. The courts look poorly upon people who try to game the bankruptcy system.Answer #4: When you apply for a loan, you are making a good faith promise to pay it back.

If it is your intent not to pay it back, then that promise is a lie.  That's federal banking fraud, plus perhaps other state and federal charges.


Title: Roommate saying I owe her 400 dollars for utilities for 2 months. (Ontario)

Question:
I had a pretty sketchy roommate (I will call her B - not for bitch, but because it's the initial of her first name lol) for two years. I didn't really know how sketchy she was until towards the end of my time there (she used my toiletries without asking a few times and denied it when I caught her). Four of us lived in the house, and since I moved in after they were already there, I didn't really handle the bills - just paid them via online transfer to the girls.

Things were okay, I paid what I had to pay. In Oct 2014, I sent B $146.84 for utilities (mind you, this should be multiplied by 4 since we were splitting it 4 ways). In February, my share went up to $228.49. Pretty big increase, but I didn't question it because it was winter. Now, she is claiming I owe her $400 dollars for what I assume is February and March. She said it's due to an increase in the "economy." I texted her back in April saying that I paid her over $200 in February and I was unsure about why she is asking for such an absurd amount now (especially since October-February was only $228 dollars; side note: June to October was $256.37). She hasn't been very articulate but from what I'm understanding, she's asking me for $400 for the months of February and March. I also lived there in April but since we all moved out after the bills arrived, I gave $70 directly to landlord for the month of April. B sent me some copies of bills which say "Paid Feb. 22" on them so I'm not sure why she is sending me bills she's already paid for; generally, the "evidence" she's providing is just a bunch of bills, some are even from December? Also, she keeps dodging my texts when I ask her how on earth utilities were a combined amount of $1600 dollars for the months of February and March. I think it's ridiculous to ask me for $400 dollars for two months when the pattern has been around $200 for 3-4 months.

She has continued to ask me for the money through text messages every two months.

What is my best step?

Answer:
 >  B sent me some copies of bills which say "Paid Feb. 22" on them so I'm not sure why she is sending me bills she's already paid for

Huh? If she's sent you copies of the bill you can see exactly how much usage there was and how much is owed. Does it match what she's asking for?Answer #2: 1. Get copies of *the exact bills* she's talking about. Not the payments - the bills themselves, which show the consumption (kWh for electricity, cubic feet for water, whatever it is) for that period. Make sure you get all the pages, since the fist page sometimes only has the total amount due, which may include past-due balances for previous months.

2. Figure out how much was owed for those specific months. Ignore any unpaid balance for previous months. If your roommate demands that you pay for a portion of the past-due balance as well, make sure you get copies of *those* actual bills as well.

3. Divide that number by four to get your portion, since you said you're splitting it four ways.

4. From *that* number, deduct the amount you already paid her for those periods. This remainder is what you should actually owe.

5. In the future, insist on seeing the full bill before you pay anything. Keep in mind that sometimes the bills are estimated rather than actual readings. Typically this is adjusted up or down, as needed, on the following month.


Title: Can I remove a real-estate sign from my front -lawn?

Question:
I live on a property in front of a suburban community. A house is for sale in the community and the real-estate company put a sign advertisement in my front yard next to the road-sign.

I called the representative to ask them to remove it within a week, and they said they would. I just want to know if I may remove it myself if they fail to do so.

The sign is on my property, but i have read about something regarding state right of way laws I which don't fully understand. These laws seem to make it unclear whether or not I can remove the sign personally.

In Ohio btw, here is a link to the law I am talking about

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5551.07

Thanks!

Answer: Unless the county commissioners are the one trying to place this sign, this doesn't apply. You can take down the sign if it's on your land.


Title: What are the legal consequences of verbal harassment? I have been saying mean things to the girl my bf cheated on me with and she called the police.

Question:
Hey guys,

This is in Placer County in California.

So, as stated above, my boyfriend kissed this other girl while I was in rehab earlier this year. While I recognize this is my boyfriend's fault, the girl wouldn't back off of him, continued to contact him, tag him in old photos, and say crap about me.

Anyway, when it happened I said a few insults over Facebook, I should have left it alone but I have a hard time coping with my emotions properly sometimes.

Then a couple months later now I got drunk last night and texted her from MY PHONE NUMBER saying a bunch of volatile things and how the world would be better without her etc etc.

She responded letting me know she called the police and that they'd be coming to my house.  They may have earlier, I slept until noon. And I have a voicemail from a restricted number that I'm avoiding opening.

So yes I'm an idiot, having major regrets, I'm sure I deserve this but I'm wondering what the potential legal consequences for me are?? I start a new job tomorrow that's very important to me...

Answer:
 653m PC

>Every person who, with intent to annoy, telephones or makes contact by means of an electronic communication device with another and addresses to or about the other person any obscene language or addresses to the other person any threat to inflict injury to the person or property of the person addressed or any member of his or her family, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

These investigatons rarely gain any traction on the first phone call but if the police tell you to knock it off and you continue they could arrest you for it. Misdemeanors are generally punishable by up to 1 year in jail or 1k in fines or both.


Title: [Alberta] Landlord won't return my damage deposit even though no inspection/walkthrough was ever conducted. Is this grounds to threaten a lawsuit?

Question:
I'm a 22 year old soon-to-be graduating student. I lived in a house in Alberta in which the landlord rented out rooms separately. I moved out at the end of April and am now back in my home province.

My landlord was so unprofessional on so many levels I won't go through them all but what sticks out the most was he showed up unannounced on several occasions (which I have proof of) and now he won't return my damage deposit even though there was never an inspection conducted when I moved in.

He emailed me saying how my deposit covered damages to a door and some other things which he is holding me responsible. I will admit that I didn't leave the place is the greatest condition, but I'm being held responsible to damages that may or may not have been me, but there was never any written record of the condition before moving in. It seems to me that it comes down to his word versus mine on certain damages. On the tenant move-out cleanup checklist, his signature is on it and where it says 'signature of tenant', he wrote 'abandoned property'.

I emailed him the Guidelines for Inspection Reports as part of the Residential Tenancies Act of Alberta. It clearly states that a move-in inspection is mandatory, and keeping copies is mandatory.

The third paragraph underneath the "Guidelines' section says 'A landlord can only make deductions from a tenant’s security deposit to pay for damage to the residential premises if the landlord and tenant completed written move-in and move-out inspection reports. (see Security Deposit section). These inspection reports must be done within one week before or after the tenant moves in, and within one week before or after the tenant moves out.'

http://www.servicealberta.ca/pdf/RTA/Inspection_Reports_RTA_Handbook_BW.pdf

Even after showing him this document, he still is refusing to return my damage deposit and key deposit even though I returned the keys and there's no move-in inspection documents with my signature. I'm trying to be as professional as possible but I will not stand for this treatment. I want to give him one last chance to return my deposit and if he still refuses, do I have grounds for a lawsuit?

Answer:
 Your reading of the Residential Tenancies Act is correct. In Alberta the onus is on the Landlord to ensure that a move-in and move-out inspection are performed. If they don't do this, they cannot withhold the damage deposit.

If you want to fight this, don't start a "lawsuit", file an application with RTDRS:
https://www.servicealberta.ca/landlord-tenant-disputes.cfm

This is a specialized tribunal designed for regular folk to resolve Landlord/Tenant disputes without a Court. You'll get results much faster using this system, and the failure to perform move-in/move-out inspections makes your case pretty straightforward.

My only caution is that if you go to RTDRS, you are open to counterclaims. You have only told us about this one issue. If the Landlord has legitimate issues about you as a Tenant, it's possible the Tribunal will also find against you on those issues. So if you're going to use that system, make sure you have clean hands.