Title: My gf is finalizing a divorce from her husband through a divorce mediator. The mediator has asked her out to drinks/dinner, and continues to try to call/text her. What should she do?

Question:
Hi reddit,

This is all in California.

Was told to x-post here from other subs:

My gf, Katie (25F) is about to finalize her divorce with her husband John (27M). Rather than drag the process out in court, they agreed to settle it through a divorce mediator Hugh (at least 55M) that John picked. John has a lot of money and pushed for an out of court process to protect his stuff. Katie agreed to it as she just wants it to be over with.

Hugh is an attorney that does divorce mediation on the side.

They met the mediator Monday evening, and it seems it was a pretty straightforward meeting (John started crying in the middle of it, but that's maybe irrelevant?).

Flash forward to last night, Katie's over my place and she gets a text from the mediator. She tells me that's odd, because she doesn't even recall giving Hugh her number. He says he should have the paperwork finalized by tomorrow, and then asks Katie

**"Are you busy after work tomorrow?**

Katie told me this as soon as she got it, really confused. I joked "He's totally gonna ask you out."

HE FUCKING DID! After she asked, "Did I need to sign anymore paperwork?" Hugh texted back **"No, I was wondering if you wanted to grab some drinks and dinner with me."**

This guy is supposed to be an impartial legal mediator, and he's asking out a woman that is his client going through a divorce from his other client. Katie is beyond creeped out and has not replied.

**Hugh sent her 4 more texts and called 5 times to see why she wasn't responding**. This guy has all their information from paperwork (phone numbers, email address, social security numbers, address, etc).

So my questions are:

1. What should my gf do in this situation?

2. What can I do for my gf to make her feel safe?

3. Should I get involved and report the mediator?

**tl;dr**: Gf is getting divorced. A divorce mediator that the husband picked literally asked her out to drinks and dinner, has all her info. Keeps texting her and calling her. She is creeped out and I don't know how to support her. What do, Reddit?

Answer:
 [File a complaint with the State Bar of California.](http://calbar.ca.gov/Attorneys/LawyerRegulation/FilingaComplaint.aspx)

Answer #2: Honestly I would get a new one and not finalize with this mediator either.Answer #3: What did the mediator say when she replied, "No, thank you."?


Title: (FL)Can my landlord regulate what music I listen to and what I do with my day?

Question:
I rent a guest cottage from a middle aged couple. It's on the same property but separate from their house. I still have 3 months left on the lease.

They get upset about everything I do. They complain about what music I listen to even though I only listen with headphones on. The husband doesn't complain that often but the wife is a nightmare. She came to the door and told me that she doesn't care if I wear headphones "that type of music" isn't allowed. They only heard it because when they came to get rent one day I still had my headphones on and they heard it when I put them around my neck.

She also wants to evict me because of my job situation which they knew about when I started renting from them. I have a job but I don't start until August, I have enough savings to last me two more *years* and I have always paid my rent on time and in full.

Can they evict me for listening to music they don't like and not currently going to work?

Answer:
 Is there anything in your lease agreement? Are you violating noise ordinance for your neighbourhood?

She cannot tell you what type of music you can listen to.

If you can pay your rent, and there was no stipulation in your agreement that you MUST always be employed then there is no issue. She also cannot force you to listen to certain types of music.


Title: Missouri - Applying for a new job while pregnant

Question:
I'm not sure if this is the right sub for this or not. My wife will be graduating with her Masters in Counseling in August. We are also expecting another child in mid October.

My wife thinks that because of the "continuity of care" she is going to have a very difficult time landing a job before the baby is born. I know that, legally, employers are prohibited from not hiring her based on her pregnancy, but that won't stop them with coming up with another reason to not hire her.

My question is whether she is right or not. Are our expectations overly pessimistic or pretty realistic.

Answer: Real world advice is she is right, many employers will not hire a advisably pregnant woman into something other than a entry-level job because they know they will just have to let her go once she gives birth.


Title: [NY] Pet bird let out of the house leads to threats of eviction.

Question:
Posting this on behalf of my Girlfriend. She lives with her mom and her younger brother. She had a sun conure in her room.

     Landlord sent someone out to the house to replace some windows in the basement, he was at the house alone. Girlfriend closed(not locked) her door before she went off to class. She comes back home to a missing bird and her room door wide open.

They get in touch with the guy who was working at the house earlier that day and he tells them that he did now know of a bird in the house, nor did he hear or see a bird ( her bird makes alot of house whenever anyone enters the house ).

She starts to look for her bird and posting on social media for people to keep an eye out. Girlfriends mom has a camera in living room. When they look back through the footage it shows that the guy had opened girlfriends room door and he was spooked by the bird coming out. He goes back to work and her pet bird is now in the living room; so he clearly knew of the bird. When he is done with the windows downstairs he leaves the house and the bird makes a beeline for the door, door closes, then opens, then closes again. It seems like it was about this point where the bird managed to escape.

Bird has been lost now for a couple of days. With the footage, Gf and her mother went to the police station to file a police report, so police are investigating.

Once this is done, the following day, Landlords wife gets really nasty with gf's mothers over the police report and threatens eviction. I was told Landlords wife wont reason with them. Here i am told that landlords wife claims a pet bird was not part of the lease agreement (girlfriend was not aware of this as she did not sign or read the lease).

Landlord's wife demands that the police report be dropped and that they apologize to her and the man who replaced the windows.
The man who was replacing the windows i am told is family friend of the landlord and is/was a Police officer.

Girlfriend wants to comply with landlords wife in the hopes that everything will go back to normal and that they wont get evicted. I dont think it is right of the landlords wife to threaten them with eviction and demand apologies for her friends fuck up.  I also think that regardless of whether GF apologizes landlords wife will still go through with the eviction.

Her pet bird is no where to be found. He is a tropical bird and cannot live in the cold weather, i fear the worst for him.

Other information about situation : There are 3 other animals in the house, which i assume are on the lease. Gf's mother is a single mother and has a hard time making ends meet ( ie she is consistently late with rent payments ). Gf also has a younger brother who was recently diagnosed with a mild case of aspergers.

Update : As i predicted Landlords wife is going through with eviction threat. I was told that she will be proceeding with the paperwork on monday with a 3day Eviction notice. I did some reading on it and concluded that such a short notice eviction was for unpaid rent. Which has already been paid up to the month. Not sure what other grounds she might have to file for eviction. Little sun conure still remains missing. Thank you guys for all the advice and kind words!

Update 2 : Girlfriends mom is responsible for all utilities and unfortunately she is behind on the water bill ( which is under landlords name ). Also Landlords wife is a Realtor in the area, not sure what implication that carries.

Answer:
 Your girlfriend can't be evicted unless she violated the lease somehow.  Unless the lease forbids pets, then she could have a pet.

That said, since she currently doesn't have a bird, she's not breaking the lease, so she also can't be evicted.

As far as finding the bird, also let local pet stores and animal rescues know about the missing bird.  Post in your location specific subreddit and get some locals involved.  Best of luck finding it.Answer #2: Place the birds cage on your porch with the door propped open and often the bird will return. I've done this with several birds that escaped and they came home within 3 days. Answer #3: Does the lease explicitly forbid birds or have a blanket ban on pets? If no, tell the landlords wife to shove it where the sun don't shine. They probably won't renew the lease anyway at this point so you might as well get your pound of flesh for the poor bird that's going to freeze to death now.Answer #4: It sounds already like the landlord doesn't have much of a leg to stand on for terminating the lease, but to add to that, there are laws in NY against retaliatory evictions, and this definitely looks like one.


Title: My parents won't sign off of my deed/title

Question: I'm in Ventura, California. 7 years ago my parents helped me with 20% downpayment and cosigned for me on the loan. I have been making ALL payments since. I recently got married and want to refinance to get a some cash out as well as a lower rate and to add my husband to the deed. They are delusional and think that they have a right to some of the difference of the equity accrued over the life of the loan. What my mother is saying is that she got legal advice and they told her not to sign any papers. We have had the bank draw up the papers and all they had to do was sign but they refuse and say its illegal to not notify them in advance that we wanted to refinance. They have missed multiple appointments to sign the paperwork. My mom and dad are both assuming that they cannot sign the paperwork because they are "entitled" to some of the extra equity. Is there any legal way to make them sign their name off the deed? We are in a bad financial situation right now and need the extra money to pay off some debt. We believe our next step is to talk to a lawyer but wanted to ask the reddit community first to see if there is any other way, or if going to a lawyer is even going to work. I appreciate any advice anyone can give.

Answer:
 If all they did was co-sign, I'd probably agree with your position and be upset that they wouldn't let me re-fi.

But they put up 20% of your home's value as a down payment. Have you paid them back their initial investment?


Title: Male employee in AZ.US receiving sexual and personal texts from a male supervisor.

Question:
I work in an office environment and have a male supervisor who has my cell phone number. Our communication was strictly work related until about 2 months ago. He texted me while I was on vacation at night, asking how my trip was and if I was drunk at the moment.

A few weeks later, another late night text (after midnight) asking if I was awake. The next day at work he told me his GF had used his phone to send those, and was trying to get ahold of someone else.

A couple weeks late, a call from a blocked number around 2am and I answered. Dead air so I hung up. Immediately got a text from my supervisor's number identifying  themselves as a female, his GF, using his phone. "She" asked if I was somebody else with a similar name and I said no, and that I was my supervisor's employee. "She" replied that she didn't mean to wake me but she couldn't sleep.  I didn't respond. "She" probed further and reassured me that my supervisor was passed out. After a  few more ???s and hellos from "her" , I responded again, angrily, saying that her BF was my boss and that "her" texting was waking myself and my girlfriend both. "She" apologized and stopped texting. I didn't say anything to him the next day, and at the time I felt bad that his GF was obviously trying to cheat. Looking back, it seems much more likely that it was just him pretending to be her.

Last night he texted me in the evening asking how my recent move went. I responded and answered his question. He then asked about my GF and if she was with me right then, and then if we were planning on living together soon. I responded. He then asked me if I was buzzed and drinking, I told him no because I worked the next day. He remarked that he wanted to ask me something but that it would be better if I was drunk before he did. A few more questions about my drinking habits, then told me I sounded buzzed (from a text?). I told him I wasn't. Then he asked out of the blue "watcha packin?" I didn't respond. He repeated the question and i responded with "what am I packing???" He told me not be shy and I asked him what he meant. He responded with "down south, bud."

I didn't know how the fuck to respond to that. He then sent a few more ???s and other short things probing me to respond. Finally I sent "what the fuck?". He asked "u mad?" "honestly?". At this point I had had enough and asked him flat out why he was asking about my dick size.

His immediate answer was "huh?!" Then "serious man?" "yo" "call me real quick bro". He abandoned the texting for a minute and tried to call three times over the next few minutes. I didn't answer. He then sent around 10 more short texts within the space of about 20 minutes probing me for some response, including one that stated "this is [his GF] again haven't we talked before??" and another saying "how's dinner?".  He called at least 5 more times in between these texts, the last one from a blocked number.

Early this morning he texted me a long paragraph stating that I took him the wrong way, and that he was actually asking if I had a gun because a few people were going to the range after work today. I didn't answer. Later in the morning I called out of work, which at my job just means I called an attendance hotline and left a recording. I didn't know how to handle this with him face to face and it's Saturday so none of the HR staff work on weekends.

I wrote the whole exchange above pretty much verbatim to what was said. There is no way he was asking about going to some gun range and I just misunderstood, and the other incidents before last night make it even more blatantly inappropriate. I talked to a girl today who used to work with us both, and she stated that it's happened before with him to other male employees, but wasn't reported. I realize that's just hearsay, but its one more thing to take into consideration.

I'm reporting this for sure, and have taken screen shots of the text and call histories. Ideally, I want some or all of these things to happen:

-removal from his supervision

-his termination

-monetary compensation

First of all, does the fact that this occurred outside of work negate any wrongdoing on paper?

Let's say it doesn't, and I have a solid case. Should  I confront him in person first, report this to upper management first, or go to a lawyer first?

The supervisor is a former cop and currently in the police reserve. He has a family. If I went to him first, is it likely he would try to put up a bribe or hush money to cover it up (and how illegal is that)?

The company I work for is privately owned, for-profit, and does business internationally. Given their size and resources, if I went to upper management first, what would happen realistically to him, and to myself?

From a lawyer's perspective, do I have grounds for a lawsuit/settlement against him and/or the company? If so, what are my realistic chances of winning and what would it cost my time and money?

I've read up on AZ state laws, but you all know how things work in practice rather than on paper.

What would you do?

Answer: To add to what /u/riconquer said -- don't ask for money. You're really not entitled to any, and while you're 100% justified in your other requests, trying to turn this into a windfall will turn your employers against you.


Title: CA - Communal living and shitty neighbors

Question:
Deleted and started fresh because I'm a wordy mother fucker.

TL;DR: New neighbor in communal property is aggressive when asked to be quiet or accomodate another's request.  Is simultaneously complaining about the rest of us to the landlord.  LL seems to be on her side.

New neighbor with kids moves in to communal property (2 Victorians converted into apartments) about 6 months ago.  They're (the kids) noisy, rude, and have damaged both my and other tenants personal property.  They've also peed on the side of the house, vomited on front porches, and thrown rocks at the other tenants.  Mom says that's just how she's raising her kids, and refuses to tell them to stop.

Mom is upset that the rest of the tenants (all adults) hang out in the backyard and drink a few beers during the evening.  She has now complained to our landlord about it.  She also complained about the dogs jumping on her.  We put up fences, she now complains she has no access to the backyard (temp fences, that open like gates do, no access restricted).

Landlord sent a letter saying we have to keep dogs on leashes in the yard.  He then comes by to check, gets into an argument with another tenant who tells him there's no law requiring them to be leashed.  Landlord leaves in a huff, neighbors are worried about being evicted, I'm irritated because I don't want to live in constant conflict, neighbor is still a thundercunt.

What are our rights? Do we have to have the dogs on leashes in the fenced backyard? Can I put a camera up to prevent further property damage? Do we have any recourse againt the constant complaints and aggressive behavior?

Answer: Call the cops on this neighbor each and every time something happens. I will say though that it's the landlord's yard. You have no right to put up a fence without her okay.


Title: Can I claim unemployment

Question:
Hi All,

Recently I left my job. I was getting paid just over 6 figures and the company sold out to a new company. The new owners decided to restructure pay from a salary to a base + commission which meant that based on passed numbers I would be seeing a 20% decrease in pay. I didn’t accept it so we parted ways.

I went and claimed unemployment which is less than 25% of my pay but I need it while I figure things out.

They responded to my claim that I quit.
I have to request a hearing now to fight that.

The question is did I quit or was I let go?I wasn’t blatantly told “you’re fired” I was told take a 20% decrease. Which I’m pretty sure is corporate jargon for “eff off”

Answer:
 On the surface, it appears as if you quit because *you* decided not to work there anymore when they were willing to continue your employment.

In some cases, a drastic cut to your wages (or hours) can be seen as a form of constructive dismissal, which generally entitles you to unemployment.

I'm not sure whether or not switching you from salary to base + commission would be seen as that.  Your option is likely to appeal the unemployment decision.


Title: [AB] Neighbor is sort of landlocked but not really

Question:
My family used to own a really large wheat farm but we've had to sell some parcels off. Essentially, we sold a parcel off here and there, but we are having a little issue.

This guy, 50 or so, bought a small parcel on the outside of our property near a strip of land technically owned by the city, but my family has been using for about 150 years of constant farm use. I think we have a pretty solid legal claim on it, and we've hired a lawyer to get it for us.

But in the meantime this guy we sold off a parcel to wants access to his land through this disputed parcel, and we told him no. He said he will contact a lawyer, and i'm wondering what we should do?

paint by request: http://imgur.com/fq5xRMk

Answer:
 Please deliver a shitty mspaint diagram.Answer #2: You sold him land that he can't access?

That's like me selling you a tractor but not letting you use it.Answer #3: How do you propose he drive onto his property? What solution are you suggesting?


Title: Lawyer billing for communicating his suspicion

Question:
[Ontario]

My tax lawyer indicated in his final invoice that one of the services he provided is: "communicated [his] concerns regarding [my] immigration status" and its effects on my tax filing. Is this kind of thing okay to be reflected in an lawyer's bill? He only does tax law, nobody in his office has license for immigration practice.

Answer: Yes of course it is, so long as what he described actually happened.


Title: Left a slightly mean note on my neighbors door, he called the cops.

Question: I live in an apartment complex run by a resort, surrounded (of course) by other tenants, one of who has been a pill for all of us living here since move in. He just got a dog that barks NONSTOP when hes not here (the dog is not a service dog and we are only allowed service dogs in resort housing). His dog barked for hours on end day after day. Finally being fed up with it I left him a note on his door calling him a piece of shit and piece of shit dog owner. He came to my apartment that night and confronted me about it. I denied knowing anything about it. The next day, he left a note on his own door calling out the "pussy ass bitch" that left a note on his door. The very same day, his dog was barking incessantly again, so I called security for the resort, filled a complaint, and a security officer from the resort came out, heard the dog barking, took a picture of the note he left on his door, took statements, and left. The neighbor in question since the incident has been calling to security, HR, and even the police to report me. According to him he has video/audio cameras installed all throughout the inside of his apartment as well as his front door and has video of me placing the note and later reading the other note he posted. Does he have any legal grounds for any charges against me? Thanks!

Answer:
 There are no legal ramifications here. Dude’s just a dick and if what you have said is true, you should be fine.

You didn’t make any threats of harm to him, his dog or property in your written letter, did you? Answer #2: Being passive-aggressive isn't illegal. You're goodAnswer #3: Don't believe him that he has videos just because he says it.

The only place that sort of thing actually matters is in court, and if you are taken to court, bring a lawyer and let them ask the questions.


Title: Recently arrested, unsure if I should bring psychiatrist letter to court.

Question:
Would it hurt me at all to bring a letter from my psychiatrist to court? The letter would reveal my condition and on going treatment. I was arrested for "jwalking" and "obstructing an intersection". What an jackass cop. I was photographing the intersection.
Edit: I'm confused about the down votes. I'm entitled to my opinion of the attesting officer. He was a jackass. Being a police officer doesn't exempt you from that. Edit 2: This isn't an "excuse". I haven't posted anything about my own mental condition, or the circumstances of the arrest, fyi.

Answer:
 Personally I think you should start court with that whole *jackass cop* thing.

Disclaimer: This is definitely legal advice.


Title: [Ohio] Can my landlord tell if I don't have renters insurance as required by my lease?

Question: I've been meaning to get it but moving and life in general has been so chaotic I have yet to get it and it's almost been a month - can my landlord look me up somehow and determine that I don't have insurance and evict me for it?

Answer:
 Generally they’d check that by asking you for proof of insurance. No proof may lead to a notice to comply or quit, the first step of eviction.

Not every landlord bothers to check.Answer #2: No, he can't tell that. But he can require you provide proof of it.

And stop delaying. Renters insurance is very cheap (like $10/month) and can save tons of headaches


Title: [MI] Parents Divorced: Mom who is receiving thousands in child support abandoned her 15 YO daughter at home alone; Dad travels for work and is sole income, any steps to helping dad get custody and cutting mom off from cash?

Question:
An involved story, and posting for a family friend.  Dad (family friend) and Mom divorced 2 years ago and since Dad is the sole breadwinner and works in solar so is constantly traveling Mom got custody, lived in the house, with 15 YO daughter and was awarded \~$5,000 a month in child support. Around 6 months ago, Mom started leaving daughter home alone for long weekends, with no money and only the food in the house to go party. Recently, Mom called to say she wasn't coming home at all and she was moving in with her boyfriend. Of course, she didn't tell Dad about any of this, and a 15 year old being 15 kept it from him as well. Dad was on a 4 month stint in TX and only learned what was happening when Daughter finally let him know she was out of food and there was no money in the house.

Currently the situation is that Dad is back in Michigan trying to get the daughter out of the  hole she is now in (grades went from As and Bs to Ds and Fs) but he will eventually have to either quit his job ( not a great option: High school diploma education only, no experience in anything else and pays the mortgage) to return to MI, or leave on the road again. Right now when he does go out of  town on the small jobs he is taking the daughter stays with a neighbor family My question are as follows:

1. Is there a way he can prove neglect and abandonment on Mom's part to get full custody even if he is not able to be there full time?
2. Is there a way of reclaiming the last few months of child support if you can prove that the money was not used to support the child?
3. Is there a legal way to arrange/ grant partial caretaking to the neighbor family who are looking after daughter?

I don't want this girl to end up in foster care, and I really don't think that Mom should be collecting money for a child she left with no money or food for weeks. Additionally if anyone knows of tutoring resources in Michigan to help her get her grades up and maybe a good child and family therapist in Huron county that would be helpful.

Answer:
 I think the immediate steps are something along the lines of:

1. Call CPS (and possibly the police) to report the abandonment by the mother
2. Get a lawyer yesterday to file for an emergency custody change

The lawyer will be better able to advise on the remaining questions you have.Answer #2: And might I suggest boarding school? Teenagers usually love it, withh 5,000/month Dad could cover somewhere pretty ritzy, and it would accomodate his intensive travelling.


Title: Ex-husband wants me to stay with 6k cc balance and keep all our belongings

Question:
My husband and I are divorcing due to his infidelity issues. We have been together for 6 years, married 4. We have a kid.
He left me and asked for a divorce to be with another woman back in May. Four months passed and we were able to start the process to file for a divorce (Oklahoma) However, we decided to give our marriage another try.
Anyway, when we decided not to get divorce, he paid for my school with a claims check he received for a car accident, he was also able to pay off one of his credit cards.
I opened a credit card under my name when we were separated. We started to use my credit card to furnish our new apartment. Fast forward to today, turns out he has never been faithful to me and has put my health in jeopardy (over 100 women in 5 year span).  He finally confessed and has said he doesn’t plan on changing his ways.
I am leaving with our daughter and have $6k balance on my cc. I have asked him if I could sell the furniture that was bought on the cc to pay it off and he says no because he paid for my school. He wants to keep all the furniture as well.
He is in the military and I’m not planning on going to his command because I’m afraid of what he will lie about to get custody of our daughter.
I know I have nothing to hide but I don’t want to risk losing my daughter.

Is there anything I can do? What should I do?

Answer: You need a divorce attorney.  Assets and debts are split up fairly by the court, not because your husband "says so".  Answer #2: If you want to hurt him, then you should inform command about the adultery. This will almost certainly work in your favor both in the divorce and in the custody case in oklahoma. However, he is still your child's father and if he can play some role in the child's life, it would be better for the child; that's your call.


Title: Getting sued for pepper spray

Question: Let's say a girl sees a guy running at her so she then whips out her pepper spray and sprays him. Could that guy then claim he wasn't or claim he was running after something else and sue her? To make this an even dumber question. If this man was really short and the girl pepper sprayed him could that man then claim she was afraid of midgets/leprechauns and proceed to sue her?

Answer:
 Pepper spraying someone is considered assault, generally with a weapon, which is pretty serious. To mitigate that charge, the sprayer would argue self-defense. Depending on the totality of the circumstances, including factors such as the location, time of day, witness accounts, security camera footage, the relative physical abilities of either party, etc- the state might decline to bring charges, a jury might find the woman not guilty, or she might be convicted.

Claiming to be afraid of leprechauns and then assaulting a short person is not likely to be an effective defense.


Title: Wife not being allowed time to breast pump at work

Question:
My wife works at night shifts as a labor and delivery nurse (you'd think they would understand the needs of mothers but nope)

It is a busy high stress job. But she has repeatedly been not allowed time to pump. Her charge nurse today said it "it is recommended but not required". She left crying and in pain.

It is my understanding this is against federal law. But I remember some rumblings that trump wanted to remove these protections. Did that happen?

Is this something we should be talking about with a lawyer? Or is this something that is more "go to HR"? I am. Just very wary of HR myself. But I thought it might give some leverage to say we had been talking to a lawyer.

Also more generally, is it worth suing a place you would like to remain employed at even if they are braking the law? Or..if it doesn't go that far is it a bad idea to threaten to talk to a lawyer?

Her hospital is awful but we have to a new baby and can't afford to lose this job.

Answer:
 Nurses are sometimes categorized as exempt rather than non-exempt.  If she's exempt, there is unfortunately no federal protection for pumping breaks. So know which she is before she takes action.Answer #2: What state is this taking place in?  How many employees does the hospital have?Answer #3: **Talk to an employment discrimination or civil rights lawyer**.

Whether the matter falls within the ambit of the Affordable Care Act amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act may be relevant, but regardless of whether your wife is exempt or non-exempt, discriminating against your wife on the basis of her need to pump milk may constitute sex discrimination, prohibited under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, and pregnancy discrimination, prohibited under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act. There may also be state laws that protect pregnant and/or breastfeeding women.

Be advised that federal courts are of varying opinions on this question. The Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (which covers TX, LA, and MS) has held that breast feeding discrimination is both sex discrimination and pregnancy discrimination, which are prohibited by federal law. A number of federal trial courts have agreed. I am not sure what courts that cover the state of North Carolina say, however.Answer #4: If she gets paid hourly then I believe she would not be exempt.

She needs to speak to HR. Her supervisor sounds very confused on what protections your wife is entitled to.

With a hospital being so large they most likely have a separate policy regarding pumping at work. Again, have her contact HR and ask them.


Title: I live in Riverside, California. I'm getting married to a Mexican citizen.

Question: I am getting married to a Mexican citizen and we are planning on a small wedding at the court house due to money.  Some background is we have known each other for 15 years and used to date when we were teens. Now we are older we are able to date on our own terms. So now we are planning on getting married. She can legally cross the border with her passport.  Is there any legal advise in regards to getting married without filing for a fiancee visa and can we marry without any other documents from CBP or any other government agency?  Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 How can she enter the US on her passport? Does she have a tourist visa or a green card or what?

This is an issue because if she enters on a tourist visa and then you get married, it could be considered visa fraud if USCIS suspects that she came to the US just to get married. USCIS doesn't always care, but they can choose to make a huge issue of it if they want and it could really screw things up for her in the future if you both want to live in the US. By that I mean they could deny her a visa altogether and ban her from the country.

If you apply for a K-1 (fiance) visa for her, you won't have this problem, but you'll have a significant waiting period before you can be together. Your other option is to get married in Mexico and then apply for a CR-1, or get married in the US and then have her return home before applying for the CR-1. Either way, you're going to have to wait at least a year from the time of your application, and possibly more.

All of this is assuming you're a US citizen, of course.


Title: I, 15, wish to move out of my neglectful mother's custody.

Question:
Hello, I am here to ask how I would go about changing custody to my father, as my mother is extremely neglectful, choosing to buy cigarettes instead of feeding my sister and I, for example. My father, a felon (Wrong place, wrong time dealio), doesn't pay child support, so that would likely affect my chances. But my father appreciates me alot more than my mother. My mother has tried to kick me out and make me move in with my drummer, but she usually goes and cries for me to come back. My mother is using my sister and I for her own monetary gain, since she cannot work.

r/legaladvice, how do I transfer to my father's custody without conflict or any explosive repercussions?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Call CPS whenever your mother kicks you out. Until you are 18, she is responsible for your care. Your father would have to petition the court for joint custody. As you're 15, the judge is likely to consider your wishes but the final choice rests with him. If your father can show he has a stable environment for you/your sister, like your own bedrooms at his place, he stands a good chance. If your father isn't paying child support due to your mom, this could be complicated. He will want to speak to a family law attorney for the best idea how to go about seeking modification of the custody order.


Title: Friend's mother terminated and arrested for walking out with a soda. Charged with a felony?

Question:
Hello, my friend just got his mother out on bond after she was arrested for walking out of her place of employment with a soda.  It was supposedly caught on camera a number of days prior. No altercations or anything.

My question is, why was this a felony charge over a soda?  Is there anyway to fight this charge? She is in her mid 60's and has no criminal history at all.

EDIT: This is North Carolina.

Answer:
 >My question is, why was this a felony charge over a soda?

Because there's more to the story that she's not telling.


Title: My "friend" is claiming that I left my laptop with him for so long that it belongs to him now. Is this argument vaid?

Question:
So to clarify, I forgot my laptop after a party at the house of a couple who used to be close and trusted friends. This was over 2 years ago. They let me know that it was at their house, and I said I would come get it. Eventually, after seeing em a few times, I noticed they didn't have a laptop and told them they could use it if they needed to. They always said I could have it back whenever, and I would always say they could keep using it if they needed it.

Around March this year, I told them I would be starting college again soon and would need the laptop back. He told me he needed a month or two to save money to buy their own. Also, they sat on the laptop and broke the hinge, but they told me they would fix it let it slide.

They started ignoring my texts and my girlfriend's, whether it was regarding the laptop or simply to check in and see how they were doing. I'm not starting school until next year, and they just had a baby, so I said whatever and just let it go for a few months.

Recently, I needed the laptop back. I was still being ignored so I had a mutual friend bring it up for me. That's when my "friend" called me and told me I had no legal right to it, because I left it there for so long that it was practically theirs. They also say legally it became theirs 3 months after I "forgot" it at their house, but it has been with them with my permission, for their own private needs. He insists the best he can do is give it to me in 3 months. He put me on speaker phone, kept hitting a recorder on his phone, and tried to trick me into some verbal agreement about how long he has to give it back. I insisted I would make no deal and that I needed it back immediately.

Does he actually have any legal ground to stand on?

Answer:
 You're not exactly standing on moral highground here.  You can sue to have it returned.  Go to the courthouse, fill out the form naming them as defendant, pay a filing fee for small claims, get a future court date.  Wait for them to receive a summons to court.
 Make your appointment, spend a bunch of time hanging around court until your case gets called; explain to a judge how you abandoned it there for two freaking years, gave blanket permission for them to hang onto it, then suddenly demanded it back.

And the judge will almost certainly require they return it, because it is technically your property.  Or you can try to work it out on your own.  Either way: you put yourself into this hole.Answer #2: I don't see a location, so we can't figure out if your local small claims court can order specific performance, or if they're limited to cash remedies.  If they can order specific performance, they can order the laptop returned.  If they cannot...  they will order the replacement value.  That value likely won't be much(unless it's a brand that retains value, like apple or a major gaming manufacturer)...  since the laptop is more than 2 years old.

So you may spend $100 on court costs to get him ordered to pay you $125 in laptop replacement... and then may spend months trying to get the actual money collected.


Title: friend asked me to be donor for a baby, will I be responsible?

Question:
So my friend is a woman and she is married to a woman, she asked me to be a baby daddy, I'm fine with this, but worried that if their relationship fails i could be held responsible for said baby.  I've seen news a few years back, similar situation, and the woman ended up suing for child support and won. Would a contract make it so this wouldn't happen. Or should i just avoid the situation.
EDIT: I'm in oregon, she lives in Utah.

Answer:
 Not a lawyer, am the mother of a sperm donor baby.

Do not rely on a private contract. It will not be binding as the prospective mother cannot sign away her child's right to a father. This is where the cases you hear of come from.

You should provide your "sample" directly to a reputable doctor's office or fertility clinic, not to her. And you should not even do that until you have confirmed that the laws in the state where the clinic is, and any state where she is likely to give birth, specifically state that doing so means you are not the legal father.Answer #2: Stick with Plan B.  Contracts don't work.Answer #3: Not an uncommon question here. From what I have seen, you cannot contract away your child's rights.

Your friends have to go to a sperm bank and get an anonymous donor.

Edit- Although, I am curious about "presumed paternity" if the women in question are married.


Title: [cross post from /r/writing] Is it ok to borrow fictional places and characters from other writers?

Question:
I just watched the movie [K-PAX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-PAX_\(film\)) and that has inspired me to write a short story of my own. My story is totally different from K-PAX, but it too has an extra-terrestrial coming from another planet. This fictional planet K-PAX is in the constellation of Lyra and the alien's name in the movie is Prote.

Is it okay if the alien in my short story also comes from the K-PAX planet, Or will it be a copyright violation towards the makers of K-PAX? Of course, I can name the alien something else and even invent a new planet of my own instead of reusing K-PAX. But my question is about the greater copyright issue. Does an author (or film-maker) have his copyright only on his published story/film, or the entire fictional world and its environment too?

The reason I ask this is that I'm planning to write short-stories in future that could involve fictional characters from existing works. For example:

1. A protagonist in my story who has a boring clerical job is visited by *Albus Dumbledore* (of Harry Potter fame), who enlightens him about a lot of mysteries in the Universe.

2. A famed scientist in my story turns out to be a jerk and decides to blow up United States by planting atomic bombs at strategic places across the country. The cops arrive at the scientist's place, but they were too late - he kills himself before revealing the location of the bombs. To resolve this situation, the President calls upon the help of Captain America (of Marvel Comics fame).

In these two situations, can I write and publish these short-stories without hurting the interests of JKR or Marvel Comics?
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 Copyright holders also hold the rights to any derivative works. In either scenario, you'd be opening yourself up to serious liability. Answer #2: IANAL, but yes, authors / creators hold the rights to basically everything they created, including but not limited to characters, settings, lore, etc. I would hesitate to even have a character use the Patronus charm, because that belongs to JK.

That said, for the most part, this only applies to work from which you intend to profit. Generally, you can write derivative works with a disclaimer that you are not the owner and do not stand to make money from the work. This is called fan fiction.

Authors vary on their stance toward fan fiction. JK Rowling encourages it, though she's miffed by how many people love Draco. George R. R. Martin hates it, but grudgingly acknowledges that it's going to exist. Ann Rice actively tries to prevent fan-created works based on any of her characters from existing.

You can also get away with borrowing characters if you're writing a parody of the original work, but your work must be substantially different from the original. You can't borrow Albus Dumbledore exactly as he is, but you *can* create a character who is clearly based on Dumbledore, name him Alfred Saynomore, and exaggerate Dumbledore's qualities for humorous effect.


Title: How do I get a Social for an Inheritance?

Question: Hello, I am from the country of Ecuador, and my grandmother left me an inheritance, she is dead now. I came to study in the state of Texas, but to receive some of the money she left me which is in a bank account I need a social, for tax purposes so that I can withdraw the money. I was told that to get a social I need a job, but apparently I can only work in jobs on campus because I only have a student visa. This is very complicated for me as my grades from high school are very low, and most jobs require experience which I lack. Is there any other way to obtain a social? Or is there any other way to apply for jobs outside my campus? Thank you.

Answer: If you're not eligible for a social security number and need a tax  identification number, you can apply for an ITIN number through the IRS: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/individual-taxpayer-identification-number.


Title: Logos for DJs using elements from google?

Question:
I recently designed a logo for me and a friend, one using an image of a tree from google (http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/bodhi-tree-no4-bobbi-freelance.jpg) and one using the likeness of calvin from calvin & hobbes. Both logos have been altered to some degree, with the calvin & hobbes one being altered in a more significant way. I was just wondering what the law is regarding this and whether I am protected or not. I can provide the images of the logos if it helps. Thanks in advance.

Denver, CO, United States

Answer: Both are likely copyrighted, certainly the Calvin and hobbes. If you don't want to get sued don't use copyrighted images.


Title: Husband thrown out of gym for wearing Trump Tshirt

Question:
He had much more colorful language shirts, this one only said trump.

The manager through him out this past Friday. Embarrassed him and really upset him. I told him to call corporate but couldn't get anything except voicemail.

It doesn't even need to be legal action, but other than finding a new gym I'd appreciate some ideas.

Answer:
 Location matters. In most places, political leanings do not make you a protected class, which means a business can deny you service if they wish. Nothing illegal about it.Answer #2: The gym did nothing illegal. In most states, it is not illegal to discriminate based on political affiliation.

Your recourse is to complain to the owner of the gym. It may have been against company policy, it may not.Answer #3: Political leanings isn't a protected class. Find a new gym. Answer #4: You likely have grounds to terminate the gym contract without penalty and get any dues back for the current month (or prorated dues back). However, the terms of the contract and the company’s response to this incident (when you report it to them) matter. Chances are corporate will want to fix this when they learn of it.

You likely don’t have any damages beyond that as discrimination based on political views is technically legal. With that said, raise the issue to corporate when you are able to reach them. Most companies won’t tolerate such behavior by staff. Answer #5: Does he have a membership?Answer #6: Location is not optional. Some state laws protect political affiliation as a protected class. Many states do not. If your state is not one of them, then you have no legal standing as businesses can refuse service as long as the refusal is not based on being a member of a protected class.Answer #7: Sorry that happened to your husband, other than finding another gym, he doesn't have much recourse. He can try calling again and sending an e-mail.


Title: I quit my job today.

Question:
So today I quit my job because I had found a new one.

I quit without notice and was wondering if there was anyway I could get in legal trouble.

I worked at a grocery store as a courtesy clerk and live in Inland Empire, CA

Answer: Giving notice is a courtesy, not a requirement.


Title: A girl at my college pantsed me in front of a large group of people (underwear and pants, so I was fully exposed) and I want to press charges against her. Is sexual assault applicable in this situation? (Virginia, USA)

Answer:
 You do not get to determine the charges that are filed. Contact the police and let them handle it.

ETA: Apparently Virginia allows for the private prosecution of Class 4 and 5 misdemeanors. That is an incredibly stupid policy decision.Answer #2: > A girl at my college

In addition to possibly filing charges, you can also follow up with this through your university. It's completely reasonable to file through your college to ensure you aren't, for example, sharing a class with her anymore.


Title: "I was forced to go to therapy by my school that knew I was depressed and considering suicide, saying that they wouldn’t let me go to school if I wasn’t in therapy." Is that legal?

Answer: Schools are legally obligated to act if they believe you are a danger to yourself or others.


Title: A company (NJ,USA) I worked for did not renew my contract, now they are threatening legal action if I do not help them by providing information and labor for the new people.

Question:
I was acting as Chief Information Officer at a company for a year contract (1099). I brought up that my contract was ending a month prior and asked them if they would like to renew. They are being acquired by a larger company and did not want to sign any new expenses during the process.

As an outside consultant, I leveraged others that have worked for me prior (system administrators, help desk, etc.). When I left, they also left with me as we have moved on to a new company (obviously due to not having employment at the old one).

The company I'm no longer contracted to has been contacting me and my system administrator asking for information and help to transition in the acquiring company's IT department. They have specifically asked for contact information to my help desk employees, they want us to transfer a domain name from their company to another, locate licensing information for their servers, stuff like that.

They want me to do this without compensation, I even discussed our as-needed hourly rate prior to leaving.

We are not trying to be difficult but we've moved on and need to focus on our current paying clients.

This is in NJ, USA.

What legal obligation do I have to work for them?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: None.  You can't withhold information or property that isn't yours (logins, passwords, files, etc) and must turn them over if asked, and without compensation.  Beyond that, you can't be expected or forced to work for them, whether they pay you or not.


Title: Almost $100k was stolen from a friend's bank account and police & bank won't help. What to do?

Question:
My friend woke up to see that her bank account had been plundered. From her parents' inheritance andsaving money, she saved up to almost 100.000 usd.

She called her bank and they said they couldn't do anything as that would be fraud. After that she went to the police which said it wasn't worth it to look into.

They took more than she had so right now she's in debt with her bank.

How can we fix this? This is identity theft. She didn't authorize any payments. Aren't there laws that protect us from theft?

Answer:
 You're obviously not getting critical info here. None of this is credible,  from the bank saying they can do nothing because it would be fraud if they did, to the police thinking 100k theft isn't worth their time when they investigate far smaller thefts than this. Or your friend is lying. Answer #2: > She called her bank and they said they couldn't do anything as that would be fraud

That doesn't make any sense.  Either your friend is lying to you or they're misunderstanding the situation.

Where did this money go?  The transaction has some details associated with it.Answer #3: OP, you are going to need to provide some detail as to why you think it is identity fraud.

Do you know who took the money? Are they a relative or (former) partner of your friend?

Who initiated the transactions? Did you friend fall victim to a scam where your friend made the transactions?


Title: [Illinois] Settlement won, but the attorney will not turn over money.

Question:
In 2012, my grandmother was in an accident where she was injured by another driver. They settled shortly after meeting in court. The attorney received the check and my grandmother went and signed it.  The attorney stated that he was going to pay all of the bills, and take out his portion.

After the check was signed over, the attorney stated that Medicare had a lean on her settlement winnings. (We contacted Medicare and they told us that they don't place leans on settlement) After contacting the hospital, ambulance, and the doctor, Only the chiropractor has not been paid by the insurance company.

The chiropractor has tried multiple times to contact the attorney and he will not respond, or return calls.

In an attempt to contact the lawyer by phone, letter, and in person we still can't get a response. It's been four years since the case has settled, and I feel that my attorney is attempting to take advantage of my grandmother's age, so my mother and I are seeking advice to make things right.

If more information is needed please let me know.

Answer:
 I'm not sure where you're getting your information from, but Medicare absolutely puts liens on settlements all the time.  You can read more about it here: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coordination-of-Benefits-and-Recovery/Attorney-Services/Attorney-Services.html

That said, even CMS usually doesn't take four years to deal with liens, so the timeframe is still suspect.  You sure the lawyer is still alive?Answer #2: As soon as I read your title your title, I was thinking, "There's probably a Medicaid or Medicare lien." Looks like I was right. That being said, it wouldn't take 4 years to get that settled.


Title: [MS] Gun use justified?

Question:
Watching a video of a man knocking cigarettes out of peoples hand, and intimidating them, someone brought up the question if that would be considered assault, or battery? Furthermore, the question as to whether you'd be legally allowed to use a firearm on said individual would be justifiable in the state of Mississippi, came up as well.

It is my belief use of a firearm wouldn't be justifiable, but i'm somewhat unsure, and am curious as to what your guys thoughts might be.

Answer:
 Use a firearm on them for what? No, of course not.

You can shoot someone to save your own or someone else's life. In some states, because they are committing a crime against you on your property.

Not because they knock a cigarette out of your hand. I can't shoot you because you flicked me in the shoulder, even though that's technically battery.


Title: [California]Former roommate refusing to pay rent, not sure what to do

Question:
I found a roommate online in Dec 2016, we agreed to rent an apartment in SF from February-July 2017. We split the rent $1500 a person, and both signed the lease.

However my roommate found a gf and wanted to move in with her halfway through our lease (March). He moved out Early April, paying his share of the rent only from Feb-April. This left me with the entire $3000 of the rent for the rest of our lease ($3000).

When I explained he was obligated to pay his share, he refused. Instead, he took advice from his new gf, and placed a temporary restraining order on me (I have no idea how since there was zero abuse, nothing, but my lawyer says CA if fairly liberal in temporarily allowing them)...In pursuant to California Civil Code 1946.7, this automatically "released him" from our lease effective immediately (on May 1st).

Three weeks later at the court hearing, the court threw out his request for a Restraining Order stating there is no case of anything for him against me, and that this case should have never been approved in the first place.

But by acting out this bogus restraining order idea, he's now telling me he is now legally free from the lease. My landlord says only my name has been on the lease since May 1st - July, and that I'm forced to pay all $3000 of the lease. If I didn't then it kills my credit and goes to collections, etc...

$3000 a month left me nearly completely broke the last three months. Am I still able to bring my former roommate to Small Claims Court and show he misused the Restraining Order Courts to get out of our lease? Or am I just out of luck?

TLDR- Sign a lease with a guy to split $3000 apartment. He moves out halfway through. Refuses to pay and puts RO on me. Fails, but now I don't know if I can sue for his portion of the rent.

Answer:
 Fortunately for you, [California Civil Code 1946.7](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1946.7) requires a fairly specific written notice to be given to the landlord. It requires physical copies of of all of the following:

* A copy of the temporary restraining order
* A copy of a written report by a peace officer stating that the tenant has filed a report alleging they are a victim of domestic abuse or other activities covered under the statute
* A document by a licensed third party indicating that the tenant has been a victim of one of the activities covered under 1946.7

For now, you will need to pay your rent due. Then, you can sue your roommate for failing to pay rent. If they counter with the 1946.7 notice, you will need to subpoena your landlord for the written notices which they should have been provided with (this is because the law forbids the landlord from sharing the notice to a third party without written consent from the tenant providing the notice or disclosure being required by the law or a court.) If they don't have this documentation, and on top of your previous court excursion in which the baseless restraining order was tossed, you should have a fairly clear case of your roommate owing the rest of the rent they owe you.

If for some reason your former roommate did provide all of the necessary documentation, then you are stuck with having paid the remainder of the rent.


Title: (Massachusetts) What are a few things people should have in their divorce settlement in regards to financials and parenting plan that most over look?

Question:
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Conflict resolution procedures outside of more court.

Change in income & other conditions response.  Out of court.

Buy-out provisions for alimony, business interests etc.  Hint: never continue to own a business with one's ex at 50/50 without a clear buyout provision!!!

If any shared investments remain, decision on who/how that gets managed.

Death or disability provisions.

Proceeds of life insurance or anything else that pops up as a lump payment.

And be sure to get everyone to change wills, estate planning, powers of attorney etc.  Lingering wills have caused troubles.

Have fun!


Title: If I am shot, do I legally own the bullet?

Question: If I were to be shot, and the bullet was caught in my body, could I legally claim to own the bullet?

Answer: Possession is 90% of the law


Title: Depositing a possibly shady check?

Question: I posted something on Craigslist and a buyer contacted me via text message and said consider it sold, got my info and sent me a check. I intend to take the check to the bank, deposit it in person and wait until it clears (not just pending) the bank and then transfer the good. Is there any way this can backfire?

Answer:
 Sure.  This is why the few establishments that still accept checks always ask for ID before processing them.  You don't know if the checks belong to this person or are stolen.  If the buyer is engaging in check fraud, and the bank catches up, you'll be out both the item and the money.

Now, maybe the buyer is on the up-and-up and just too lazy to get a money order, in which case depositing and waiting for it to clear is good practice.  When dealing with checks, I also recommend taking it to a branch of the issuing bank to have it verify funds.

Though, honestly, I'd feel more comfortable with a money order.


Title: Should I got against lawyer advice. Tldr at bottom

Question:
I want to keep as much details about me & where I'm at out as much as possible. I was working at a gas station & got wrongfully terminated, so I got a lawyer, I told him in the beginning all I wanted was an apology & my job back, because it was wrong. Lawyer sent out a letter to the company, their lawyer then contacts mine stating she was very sorry, I could have my job back, & it was just a miscommunication. & That's all I wanted, well that was almost 2 months ago & I still haven't gone back to work because my lawyer wants to get more money & that's not AT ALL what I want. So tonight I ended up talking to my old store manager & she said she was going to call & see what was going on, & try to get my job back because she's been waiting on me to call & say I wanted it back. I told my mom I didn't want to worry about messing with the lawyer anymore because I just want my job back, she then informs me that I could have a lawsuit held against me from my lawyer because I was having them represent me.

TLDR; got wrongfully terminated, got a lawyer, just wanted my job back, they offered it back, & he's just putting it off so we can get more money out of the situation, mom says if I go to the company myself, my lawyer could sue me.

My question is; can I actually get sued or something for just contacting the company myself to get my job back?

Answer: Contact your local bar. That sounds pretty shady. Your lawyer should do what you ask him to, not try to squeeze more money out of the defendant just for his own gain.


Title: Was going to donate to Wikipedia, some statements in their privacy policy caught my attention. What exactly does it entail? (TX)

Question:
I was reading their donation policy and it seems awfully intrusive. Is this something that I should be weary of, or am I just being overly suspicious? I’m on mobile, but I added the link to their donor policy page and an excerpt from it below. Thanks.

https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donor_privacy_policy/en

*By donating to WMF, you consent to the collection, transfer, processing, storage, disclosure, and use of your information in or to the United States ("U.S."), and other locations that may have different or less stringent data protection laws than your country, for the purposes stated in this policy. If you do not agree with the terms of the Donor Privacy Policy and the WMF Terms of Use, please immediately discontinue use of Wikimedia fundraising sites, such as donate.wikimedia.org.

-While we may not collect all of the following types of information, we consider the following to be "personal information" if it is otherwise nonpublic and can be used to identify you:

a. Your real name, address, phone number, email address, password, identification number on government-issued ID, IP address, web browser user-agent information, credit or debit card number, bank account number and routing number, personal identification number in association with the relevant account; and

b. When associated with one of the items in subsection (a), any sensitive data such as date of birth, gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic origins, marital or familial status, medical conditions or disabilities, political affiliation, and religion.

Answer:
 If you are concerned about it then you can donate by buying a money order in cash then mailing it to them leaving off your name and address.Answer #2: I understand how you feel.  I made a contribution to Wikipedia a day or two ago, read that boilerplate language, and was also worried - but not "weary". /s

I've contributed before, so based on my experience, I'll venture a guess that Wikipedia will continue to do the following:  collect our names, email addresses, etc. (but no "government-issued ID" information since I didn't give them any) and use it later to send us requests to donate again.  I think I have received a couple, not more, requests from Wikipedia over the past year, so they weren't very obtrusive.  A small price to pay for the many benefits I get from referencing Wikipedia, or the fun I have surfing Wikipedia.  And I'm not worried about them mis-using my information.  Perhaps they will be hacked and someone will get my credit card information ... but that's a risk we all take with any website these days, unfortunately.  I'll take that risk with Wikipedia.


Title: Is it common for parents to ask babysitters for a form of ID?

Question:
I’ll be babysitting for a family starting next week, and the mom told be to bring my vaccine history and a form of ID so that they can have a copy. I understand they want to know my identity so if anything happens to the baby, they know who I am. However, is it safe for me to let them take a picture of my driver’s license?

Couldn’t they possibly use my info on driver’s license? I’m worried because I remember when I was filing for state tax return and making an account for state tax revenue website, one of the infos needed was the driver license number. Should I say I’m not comfortable for them to make a copy of it but they can still look at it for verification? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Answer:
 it's not unreasonable for them to have a copy of your ID or vaccine records, and they can't do anything with that information that would harm you.

You need several other pieces of information to fuck up your taxes.


Title: A question about Medical Marijuana

Question:
So I'm a fourth year student at a private medical school. To be clear I'm not your average pot head/smoker. Before med school I served in the military and saw some pretty bad things and have PTSD. I work really hard to control it (meds/CBT biweekly/psychiatrist once a month). Thankfully it's really been getting better although I know it could come back any time.

Recently my psychiatrist told me he wanted to me to try medical marijuana. I enrolled in my states MM program and received my license soon after. Here's where things get sticky. My school has us get drug tested annually so I spoke with them about my situation. They told me that having a license or prescription for MM does not matter and that if my utox is positive it's grounds for dismissal.

Heres the bottom line. Can a private school have a policy against MM when it's prescribed by a physician?

Answer:
 Your physician didn't prescribe pot. Because it's illegal. You got a recommendation.

A school, private or not, can refuse to allow scheduled illegal drugs.Answer #2: IANAL but also am a MM patient. From my understanding, because it is illegal federally they can do this.
Some states are working on passing legislation to make it illegal to drug test applicants for jobs but I'm not sure how this would apply to a school.
If they told you you need to pass the urine test, then you need to pass it.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this, I completely understand not benefitting from other treatments it can be extremely frustrating.


Title: [GA] Parent-Adult Child Domestic Violence + TPO's

Question:
Hi Everyone. First time posting. I'll try to hit the critical points and keep it brief.

* 24 Female, living at home with parents
* Father is angry and verbally/emotionally abusive

On the night of interest this week:

Around 11pm, My father entered my room yelling something about politics, I ask him to leave. He goes *nuclear*. Screaming and ranting and cursing that a child doesn't have the right to close their door and I have to earn that and if I won't talk to him, I don't get to be in this room, or even in this house! How dare I not entertain him when he says I must. (literally, not sarcastic). So I said fine, I'll leave.

I pack up and get downstairs where he comes running after me and demands for my car keys. I surrender them because it's just easier. I try to leave the house, but then he tells me that I'm both not welcome in the house, but that I am not allowed to leave. I try to open the door to the garage, he closes it on me. I try to use my keys on the back door, he slams me into the door and rips the keys from my hands.

I try the other door again while he's at the back door. This attempt, I get to the second or third step, and my father physically pulls me out of the staircase by my arm and throws me back onto the first floor. My mother has woken up at this time from the screaming and is like, what the hell? She agrees that, yeah, dad cannot keep you hostage. He just reiterates he's the parent, he can do what he wants, and that in fact, it was *his legal responsibility* to prevent me from leaving the house.

This time I make it down the stairway, but the garage door is locked, and by the time I finally manage to get the locks undone, I'm thrown backward into the basement. I call my sister to come get me. Father will still not let me out, he will only let her in. I use what little strength I have left and the chaos to push out, and then I'm finally free.

I have not spoken with the police in my district, only the ones from campus (who would not have jurisdiction over the case). From what I understand, the possible charges could include aggravated battery (bumped up from battery since it was a family violence issue) and false imprisonment. It looks like these carry jail time. I don't want him to go to jail, but what he did was wrong.

**Questions**

1. Should I attempt to resolve this 'internally' first or should I contact an actual lawyer?  I was considering using my mother as an intermediary to give her a letter I write outlining the conditions under which I will think about repairing a relationship with them (individual counseling, anger management, family counseling, etc).

2. I was considering seeking a TPO next week.  Is that more likely to help or hurt in this case?

3. Can a judge mandate therapy? If so, can a civil judge mandate it, or just criminal?

4. Can people who respond to 911 or any judge use your previous mental health against you? Father kept saying it was pointless to call 911 because they'd take his side once he told them about my suicide attempt forever ago in 2001 and the fact I still take anti depressants.

5. ~~Would you press criminal charges?~~ For a first time offender, with no previous record, what do you expect it would plea out to? Edit: I did forget one of the cardinal rules I learnt here no less, DA presses charges not me. I guess I'm wondering then if I should file a police report. It's my understanding that if I filed a police report then it is out of my hands, right?

Thank you to everyone who has read.

Answer:
 So, just a general life tip here, but if someone is irrationally angry and is putting their hands on you, you leave, get to a safe place, and call the police.  Irrationally angry people are irrational, and you can't reason with them or calm them down, so it is best to just wander off until they come to their senses.

You're 24, so you're free to move out and live elsewhere.

1. You don't need a lawyer.  You have no damages.  You can contact the police if you desire.

2. If there's a history of abuse, then you might be granted one.

3. Not for this, they won't.

4. Very unlikely.  If you're 24 now, you would have been like 8 when you attempted suicide.  Taking antidepressants shows that you are treating your mental issue, and isn't a sign of weakness or dependency on your parents.

5. Yes.  I would call the police and file a report anytime someone puts their hands on me.  You should also call them if your dad tries to illegally evict you.


Title: I'm stuck in a hole. How could this be legal?

Question:
**tl;dr Collections took my unpaid traffic tickets and now cost more than 200% of the original fine. What the fuck can I do?**

Hello, I've been a lurker for years but this is my first post. I've seen how reddit does a great job in providing hard to reach information and great advice so I'll take a stab at it.

I'll make this quick.

I live in Florida and have gotten two traffic tickets ($169 each) in the past year or so and haven't paid my fines, so they went to collections. (Ok, I know I should've payed em off back then, but we all make young and dumb mistakes.)

Fast forward to a couple months ago, I got my act together to pay my tickets, so I called collections to see how much they were gonna be. Myself, thinking it was gonna be around $500 AT THE MOST for collection fees and whatnot, finds out that the tickets have went up to around $400 each.

Now, I don't know if they feed my tickets three meals a day over at the collections agency, but I don't know how my tickets have accumulated a 200% interest rate over a course of a couple months.

Is there anybody on reddit that have any collections agency experience and can tell me what the hell is up with that and if there is any thing I can do. Thank you very much for your time to read this. Please get back to me if you have any advice or info regarding this kind of stuff.

Answer:
 You MUST get the settlement offer in writing BEFORE you give them any money.  The document they send MUST say "settlement in full".

If you don't do this they can take your money and say you still own them and not honor any verbal agreements.Answer #2: Call up the collections agency and tell them that you would like to pay them, but that you can't afford the amount that they are asking.

They have purchased the debt from the state, and are now trying to make money from it. What you can do is offer a higher value than the tickets were for, but a lower amount than what they are asking.

They just want to turn a profit, so try to meet them in the middle.

Take care of this ASAP.


Title: (IL) My dad stole my inheritance. Can I take legal action?

Question:
I'm really upset because I just found out about the theft so my apologies if this is hard to follow.

A few years ago my maternal great-grandmother passed away and left her bank shares and profit from the sell of her land to her grandchildren, including my mom. The will had been written several years before. Since then my mom had passed away and her share was passed on to me and changed to my name in the will. My dad put it in a savings account (I'm not sure what kind) for me because I was thirteen at the time and couldn't do it myself. Later I sold my bank shares to my uncle and earned $10,000 from them which was added to the $10,000 already in the account from my inheritance. The only major withdrawal made from it with my permission was $3,000 for a trip for me.

I learned today the the rest of the account ($17,000) was taken out by my father to pay our mortgage and other bills. My family is poor and that money was meant to pay for some of my college and to help me support myself. I also liked having it in case I needed to move out before I graduate high school because my dad has been verbally, mentally, and emotionally abusive in the past, occasionally making my home a dangerous place for me.

I am seventeen now and this was the last straw. If anyone can tell me if it might be possible to get my money back and/or if I have grounds for emancipation or to transfer custody to another relative, please let me know. I need all the legal advice I can possibly get.

Answer:
 This is just advice regarding the money.

You can't get money from a stone. If he has no money, there is no money to recover.

Also - its possible he could argue that he used your inheritance to provide a place for you to live - as he would act in your best interest and its in your best interest to not be homeless....

You MIGHT  have case - but it would have to be proven that he didn't spend it on you or supporting you. Which would be quite difficult (single, widower taking care of a kid....).Answer #2: If he does have assets than it is worth pursuing. If your inheritance was used for mortgage payments you should at the least be given equity in the house.


Title: A store near me has a major needle problem surrounding their store. Can they set up a free public sharps bin, or would they be opening themselves up to liability?

Question:
The owner wants to prevent the needles somehow, but can't figure out how.  He is going around every night and picking up the needles himself, but he never sees the people leaving them, and neither do police.  I suggested he put up a sharps bin with a small sign, but he's worried it would somehow open himself up to liability if someone stuck their hand in the bin, or whoever was responsible for emptying it, etc.

What's the best way to deal with this?

Answer:
 Would it be possible to replace the lights outside his store with blue lights?  Might make it inhospitable.

This assumes they're not shooting up in broad daylight.


Title: [NY] - Money from a house sale being held up by unreasonable demands

Question:
So four people were willed a house, but the will did not specify a percentage division.  Lots of bad blood.  Long story short, the house is sold and $50K is in escrow awaiting an agreement on how to decide to split it.

Party A demands to be paid $25K or they will happily go to their grave not agreeing to any other release.  Parties B,C, and D are of one mind and just want to end it.

Questions:

1. Is Party A holding all the cards simply because of their refusal to sign?

2. If not, can Parties B, C, and D petition the court to decide?

3. If so, can Party A cause this process to become long and drawn out?  How?  Do B, C, and D HAVE to get their own separate attorneys?  SHOULD they?

4. Given that this is all over a $12,000 share, is it more financially sound to pursue a court petition, or just give Party A the extra money to get them out of their lives?

5. Is it possible that, again, NOT giving them the extra money and going to court will cost more than the shares are worth?

Thanks

EDIT: Since it does apparently have some significance, I have defined all the parties' relationships [below](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/660d6i/ny_money_from_a_house_sale_being_held_up_by/dgflag0/).

Answer:
 1.  It depends on if Party A has any basis to claim a greater share.  If s/he was a spouse, s/he may have special rights in the estate despite what the will says.
2.  Yes, where a matter is contested, any interested person can petition the court to decide.
3.  Yes, in general people can cause litigation to be long and drawn out (and expensive).  This depends in part on the judge you have and the attorneys you have.    B, C, and D may possibly be able to hire one attorney, but they would probably have to sign a written waiver of conflict of interest.  That would be a question for the attorney they select.
4. and 5.  When you are talking about a sum of $50k, it is entirely possible that the only people who would get paid would be the attorneys.  Answer #2: I'd offer offer A $20,000 and B, C, and D agree to walk with $10,000 each.  Litigating it will probably cost them more than $2,500 each.


Title: I have been putting the wrong social security number on documents for the pasts 2 years.

Question: In Georgia.  For the last two years (currently 18, this has been happening since around 16) I have been using the wrong SS#.  My parents have accidentally told me the wrong number all this time, and they only realized today.  In the past two years the most crucial things that I have given the wrong SS# have been for potentially my driver's license, voter registration, selective service, FAFSA, all the colleges I have applied to and probably other things.  Please tell me how fucked I am and how to fix it.

Answer:
 The only way I can see this being pursued as a crime is if they can prove you intentionally did this

That said you're going to want a lawyer to help you unfuck this - this is WAY beyond internet advice Answer #2: Good news: you haven't committed fraud and have no criminal liability, nor is it at all likely that you would be likely charged with anything.

Bad news: you have an unmitigated disaster of bureaucracy to unwind. If I were you I would deal with the FAFSA/tax related stuff first as colleges actually have to send SSNs to IRS for verification every year and they will pull funding and block you from registering if there is an issue. The actual admissions people don't care, but once you get in, get that fixed ASAP. You can register for the first time for selective service at your age with no consequence, so you can probably just send it in again, that's not a big deal. DL and voter registration are much less immediate, although they still need to be fixed.Answer #3: This is an extremely serious situation given your age and what is going on in your life, and I highly suggest you seek professional advice immediately. If you don’t unfuck everything properly it could set you back a full year in terms of college and other things.


Title: I want to take legal action against a man I had relations with when I was 13. Is it too late to do so?

Question:
I am currently 20 years old. I have really intense anxiety and depression (not always, I’m typically happy) and recently from a therapy session have realized that some of it may stem from a relationship I had when I was younger.

When I was around 12 y/o I was immensely depressed, insecure etc. No friends, homeschooled and whatnot. I sought out happiness in online relationships, and one of them was with an older man. He was 19 at the time, and told me he loved me. He asked me for nudes, to sext, Skype with him almost daily which I did. This continued from when I was 12 years old to when I was 16 and realized something was wrong there. He would go in and out of gfs, and yet still use me monthly. Looking back it is absolutely absurd and disgusting but I didn’t realize, I just wanted someone to love me but that’s besides the point. I’m not looking to be scolded and realize I was naive but there was definitely heavier influence on me, perhaps even “grooming.” I take full responsibility for my actions during this time period however in a lot of this time I was an actual child.

I looked back on the message apps we used to talk on and all of the photos, conversations, dates, etc still exist. It is heartbreaking and absolutely makes me cringe to revisit these messages and this period in my life. I think that after me he did it to another young girl too. My question is, even though it’s four years later can I do something? There are also clear messages indicating intent to meet me and have sex various times throughout our relationship. Like I said, this was a realization I had during a therapy session recently. I never had thought about the situation like this before.

I do not resent this person but feel that maybe bringing this information forward to the authorities can bring me closure and also stop him from preying on younger girls.

Thank you, any advice is appreciated.

Edit: I live in Northern California.

Answer:
 You need to discuss this with an attorney first, because it is remotely possible that you too could be prosecuted for distribution of child pornography. This is **extremely** rare under the circumstances you describe, but you should get advice on how your local law enforcement tends to view the situation before proceeding.

That said, a civil suit for the effects of his actions (such as your therapy bills) would need to be brought within eight years of you attaining your majority, so before your 26th birthday, and the criminal statute of limitations won't expire until after that, so yes, something can still be done.


Title: Can I sue stepmother & father for child abuse?

Question: 22yrs old now; recently, Dad wouldn’t help his early- alzheimers mother move from FL back to MA despite promising me to help with selling her house etc. Didn’t respond to him for a few months because frankly I don’t care if she was a selfish mother which he constantly mentions, she’s my grandmother and his mother, & alzheimers fucks you up to the point you can’t even remember why your relationships are strained. He texts me asking if we have a problem. Yes, we do have a problem. On top of not helping your mother, there’s been several DCF/DSS people sent to the house while I was a child because of bruises I got from Dad & mostly Stepmom. Stepmom knocked my teeth out at 6 yrs old & I have to get composite fillings every 2 yrs. Dad didn’t find out until I was twelve & comforted stepmom upon me telling him the news and asking if she feels she was ratted out. Teachers, dcf, and family members have seen the abuse inflicted. Can I sue stepmother/Dad for abuse or for having to replace my front teeth every two years?

Answer:
 no. you cant.

you can go no contact. may I suggest that.


Title: Dirty Crackhead Neighbor

Question:
Lived in my duplex apartment for 5 years now and the last 18 months with a middle aged ctrackhead renting the apartment over the garage. How he went from sleeping in an abandoned car in front of the garage to living there is beyond me but it seems his actions are becoming more reckless and I worry threatens my family's safety. It is clear that he using the unit as a base for prostitution. The prostitutes are super sketchy and are very loud at all hours. The crackhead neighbor is of course loud and obnoxious. I talked to him early on and he seemed reasonable and then all of the wheels fell off. His dog won't shut up. He fights with the other crackheads late at night. Yelling, cursing,gunfire,crying at you pick any time of the day. I recently had to stop someone I'd never seen before from committing sexual assault just feet from my back door in the middle of a Saturday. The last time I confronted CN he threatened to tell my wife I was messing with one of "his hoes". I know she would find this absurd but that seems to be the world I now live in, being blackmailed by a crackhead. I have a firm don't call the cops policy that probably won't change in these circumstances. Of course if someone is in danger but not for noise complaints or what I'd consider inconvenience. The landlord is as up to date as possible but is suffering from absent landlord syndrome, meaning that if ain't in their backyard it don't matter.So here I am not sure what to do about it if anything. Any and all advice is welcome.

update: will be filing a complaint with local PD tomorrow asap. thanks for the kind tough words internet strangers. heres to safe neighborhoods.

Answer: Near sexual assault and threats to your wife isn't enough danger for you to call the cops? What would be?


Title: Landlord won't allow lease break via military order. I am spouse, husband deployed. Houston TX

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Can you ask the Armed Forces Legal Assistance?

http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php

(Afraid I don't know much about the SCRA, but one page suggested checking there)Answer #2: Contact the military attorneys at your husband's base and ask for assistance.  They'll let you know whether you are in the right, and can likely either help you, or can point you to who can.Answer #3: If his refusal hinges on some wording you can't control he's got nothing. Make sure you notify him in writing and keep a copy. He can bitch and moan all he wants. Answer #4: Standard military PCS orders have "Report no later than (month and year)", I have never seen one with a specific date listed.  Are you sure you're providing the landlord with the PCS orders from Kuwait to Fort Carson?  And not his original PCS orders sending him from Fort Carson to Kuwait?

If they are the most recent PCS orders then the landlord is blowing smoke.

As an aside: You're going to need the most recent PCS orders to register as a military spouse for federal civilian jobs at your spouse's new duty station (and your name should be listed on the orders, or as an amendment stating you have command sponsorship).

Details on the military spouse stuff: http://www.militaryonesource.mil/moving?content_id=267565

Good luck.


Title: Can my school search my vehicle in their lot?

Question:
This is really just because I was intrigued by the information. I myself wouldn't be searched and wouldn't be in trouble if I was.

I go to a trade school for welding. There seems to be about a 25% asshole ratio among the students. Last week we had a meeting in the lab and one of the admins was really pissed off. She found a baggie with apparently a couple of flakes of marijuana in it. Illinois, no legal weed here. She said that she has in the past, and will again, bring the drug dogs in for a search. She also said that they would sniff all the cars in the lot, and search them if the dogs alerted.

It is my understanding that anything inside the building is allowed to be searched. The vehicle one seems to be a little 4th amendment violate-ey.

Answer: I think the implication is she would allow the police to search the property, which she can do. If the police have probable cause to search a vehicle, such as a dog indicating there is drugs in the car, they can search the vehicle.


Title: I'm renting and my landlord has filed bankruptcy..

Question:
I live in Washington state, I got a phone call from a trustee late last week advising me about my landlord's bankruptcy and that the property now is in the hands of the trustee. According to the woman I talked to our lease is void. She said they are willing to allow me to continue to live here until they sell the property however I must allow for scheduled appointments for people to view the place.

What rights do I have? It's pretty sad that there is nothing in place to protect the renter in a situation like this?? I already have started to look for another place but I'm just not sure how long it will take me plus I don't have a whole lot of $$ saved up to pay for movers, deposits, etc right now. I also really do not like the idea of people in and out of the place. Is there anything I can do to push back to give me more time prior to them showing the house while i'm still here? Do I get any break legally for paying rent?

Any help is much appreciated!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 If the bankruptcy trustee has rejected your lease, there isn't much you can legally do. The best course of action is to negotiate with the trustee. You don't have a lease anymore once the trustee has rejected it, so you can certainly renegotiate whatever rent you are paying. It goes both ways: they don't have to honor the lease anymore, but neither do you.Answer #2: http://www.tenantsunion.org/en/rights/section/foreclosure

Has some good info along with where to look for legal assistance.Answer #3: What are the terms of your lease?  I'm not familiar with WA laws, but generally speaking, when a landlord files for bankruptcy, the trustee must honor the terms of your lease until the sale of the house.  After the sale of the house, unless the buyer intends to move and make the house their primary residence, the new owner must also honor your lease to completion.  However, as mentioned, WA state may have more specific terms that may or may not be more tenant friendly.

As for showing the property, a quick google search shows that in WA, you must be given 24 hours written notice to show the property to interested buyers.


Title: Workplace not allowing men's jewelry

Question: I'm 17 (m), and I currently work at a fast food restaurant. I am planning to get my ears pierced soon, just some simple black rings, nothing fancy. I asked by employer about it, and he said that men aren't allowed piercings in the workplace. I think this rule is highly unfair and discriminatory, as lots of my female co-workers sport multiple piercings, nose rings, etc.. with no problem. If any of y'all have had similar experiences with this type of situation I would appreciate any advice.

Answer: Unfortunately, it's typical for there to be gender differences when it comes to the dress code. What does your work handbook actually say though?


Title: [CA] Got my tap water tested, and got some scary results.

Question:
Posting here because the water subbreddits are too boring to draw any readers to.

I resides in Claremont, California (an LA county suburb). This town's water utility is a private outfit, Golden State Water.

About three months ago I was beginning to find a significant amount of sediment in the tap water. It's like very fine sand with some black specs.
https://imgur.com/hOApLKC
Approximately this much sediment is present in every gallon of water. I filter this water with a Brita pitcher and the filtered water looked and tasted fine, so I wasn't particularly worried, just annoyed.

The water company was contacted immediately and workers came out to inspect the house. The workers went out to the fire hydrant in front of my house to see if the sediment wasn't from my house's plumbing, and lo and behold, the fire hydrant had gritty water too.

The workers decided to run the hydrant for about 30 minutes or so (flooding the street in the process) to see if the sediment would clear up. It didn't, so they tried a few more times through the month of March and April. Grit wouldn't go away.

At this point, Golden State temporarily made the water to my house free of charge. They sent another worker out in late April to run a water test for contaminants.

It was just a basic test for some common heavy metals, bacteria, water odor, and chlorine levels.

The worker came back to my house yesterday and gave me the results.
Narrative: https://imgur.com/kxs1mqH
Results: https://imgur.com/uEMaGfC
The first half of the results page are from the chlorine, odor, and microbial tests and the second half are results from the heavy metals test. An "ND" result and unbolded entry means that particular metal wasn't tested for.

She seemed particularly concerned about the molybdenum and copper levels, and took another test to verify. This retest isn't good news to me, especially since the majority of the 15-page results packet consisted of quality control data for the test.

I decided to take it upon myself to interpret the rest of the results, and went on the EPA website and checked what the legal limits were for drinking water contaminants.

http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/#seven

The limit for copper was 1.3 mg/L of water. The unit "mg/L" the EPA uses is a measurement of liquid volume-- which makes sense. However, the unit of measurement in the results I received was mg/Kg-- a measurement for solid weight. I'm aware that the results are categorized under "solid matrix", but I assume that to mean the metals tested for are solids themselves. One kilogram and one liter of water are equivalent, so I'm thinking that possibly the measurements on the EPA website and my results are also equivalent. **If I'm right, this means the copper in my water, and potentially the entire neighborhood, is ~2200 times the legal limit. And that's not all.**

The lead level, which the worker neglected to mention, is 11 mg/Kg. EPA's limit is 0.015. Nearly the rest of the metals on the list are also close/exceed the legal limit.

The Brita filter I use to drink from isn't meant to filter out high concentrations of contaminants. If I were drinking out of the tap, as many people do, at the very least, I'd be consuming nasty grit, and in the worst case, poisoning myself.

I hope I'm hilariously wrong because of the units or something like that. But the fact that the worker is doing another test and that some slight quirks in my health (muscle twitches and other random things) worries me.

No more Brita pitcher for now. In addition to waiting for the results of the retest, I'm going to seek out another water laboratory and pay for a test that'll be easier to interpret with proper units. If the results show similar high levels of nasty containments, I'll notify the neighbors and go from there.

For now, I'm just seeking other opinions and advice on this matter. Many thanks for reading this.

tldr; Water company has supplying me and possibly the neighborhood area with contaminated and gritty water for three months now. They aren't doing much with solving the issue.

**EDIT: The water test was for the sediment present in the water, not the water itself. That explains the unit of mg/Kg. If I were drinking this water straight out of the tap, I'd be ingesting the toxic sediment and most certainly develop health problems.**

Answer:
 This needs to be escalated.  Call the EPA and the [California Water Department](http://www.water.ca.gov/) and send them copies of these results.

Either they will freak out & it will get fixed, or they will explain why you're wrong.

In the meantime, I suspect if you post this in one of the science focused subs you can get some interpretation from people who understand water testing.Answer #2: I'm amazed they didn't run a water quality check with the first call about gritty water.

I also would notify your neighbors to see if they are having the same issues.  The more people up in arms about this issue will help get it fixed sooner.

Ask them to pay for bottle water while the issue is sorted out.


Title: [BC] Can my employer just not pay me if I don't submit my timesheet on time?

Question:
They wont accept my late timesheet and are saying that it was my responsibility to get it in on time. Our timesheet reporting system says my timesheet is locked by a supervisor so I cannot submit my hours. I asked for them to open it and they refused. I am a call center employee so they have plenty of evidence that I was at work(my minutes logged in are tracked).

I did receive a warning for submitting it late approximately 6 months ago, when I called my supervisor she said that I was warned in the past about this issue. I asked her if I would get paid and she said she didn't know.

Can they really just not pay me? I am in a union but they just directed me to HR who told me to come in on Monday for a meeting but wouldn't give me an answer as to whether I would get paid or not.

Answer:
 Practical advice - get your danged time sheet in on time.

I used to do the books for a small nonprofit.  You can't expect the payroll person to stay late, work extra, and so forth **because you didn't submit your stuff on time**.

If they don't fire you at the meeting on Monday and give you another chance, **get your paperwork submitted when it is supposed to be done**.Answer #2: I expect you'll be paid at that meeting. I also expect you'll be fired at that meeting.