Title: I got fired from my job and am trying to figure out if its reasonable termination

Question:
I don't make very many posts and don't know if this is the right subreddit for this post but I can't better fitting one.

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I got hired at Chipotle 3-4 weeks ago and had came into every shift and even picked up extra hours. This last Monday I called out for the first time since my roommate was sick and that was what was expected of me. I contacted the store and they said that its okay, and that their sick hotline (SSR) would contact me to get information from me. They never contacted me so I went into work the next day.

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Thursday came around and I got sick this time so I called in and my manager (lets call him manager A) said it was okay and the same thing as last time, and still SSR never contacted me. The next day was my best friends wedding and I was the man of honor so I already had the day off, but I called out the next day (Saturday) as well. Same thing same manager, still no contact from their SSR and no mention that I should not come into my shift on Sunday.

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Sunday comes and I'm feeling better, another manager texts me making sure that I feel okay and is the SSR said I can work since it says on their schedule I can. I tell him I'm feeling better and that I never got contacted by SSR still. He says to come in. I go into work that night, and manager A is working as my lead for the night, he knows everything that has been going on because I have called out to him every time. He does the preliminary are you healthy and not sick, and then sign the papers crap you have to do. I clocked on and worked for about 2 and a half hours til I started feeling sick again, told Manager A and he sent me home, once again not telling me not to come to work for a period of time. I call in the next morning for still being sick to Manager A once again (this sickness sucked btw haha) and same ordeal, no call from SSR, not being told to not come in after set amount of time, feel better.

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The next day (Tuesday), I come into work. I clock on and get caught up talking to another manager and a trainer and forgot to wait for the healthy check and immediately started washing my hands. Manager A come rushing around the corner and starts asking what I'm doing and why I'm there, he escorts me to the front of the kitchen and then tells me that we need to have a talk. I learned from the two I was talking to at the beginning of the shift that the Region Leader is there and shes mean. Manager A sits me down and talks to me asking why I'm there and why I walked past without a health check first. I explain that this if the first job that I have had to do that and I just forgot since I haven't really worked in a week and I'm new as it is, and that I'm there because I was never told not to be. He apologized for not telling me and asked why SSR never told me not to come in. He also explained that there are 3 days after calling out and a 24 hour period after that that I'm not expect to work. NO ONE had told me that up til that point. He stated that the RL is very aggressive about these polices and has fired a GM for the same thing before. So I say my okays and that I'm sorry, and I mention that SSR has never contacted me and he says that sometimes they don't contact you if that understand the sickness. I say okay I understand , weary but just going with it, and I leave.

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The next day the RL calls me and asks about the incident the day before and what me and Manager A talked about. I inform her of the situation and what was said. She says okay and that shes going to look into the situation and that it may end up in a termination. She says she will get back to me within 24-48 hours. At this point I know she is going to fire me.

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She calls me on Friday to ask me if I can talk with her on Saturday (Today), and I tell her that unfortunately I am on a trip out of state to see my family and wont arrive back until Wednesday. At that point she informs me that she has made a decision about the incident and that I am being terminated from the company. I pick up my last check that day and she gives me too free burritos. Woohoo.. I ask her what was the main cause for the termination and through stumbling words she says that it was health safety from me coming in that day. I say thank you for the check and leave.

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Now I am wondering if me being fired was reasonable or if I should bring it up with their HR department, also if I could collect unemployment from the company until I find another job, This happened in Boise Idaho. I'm not quite sure where to go from here and just would like some guidance.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Missing 4 days within a month of hire is a terrific reason for termination.

You can file for unemployment, but you may not get anything.


Title: I'd like a legal professional's take on the 13th Amendment in conjunction with the US Draft.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >how I can get out of it legally

you can be female, have certain medical conditions, or certain criminal convictions


Title: I had a totally surreal court experience last night an then Opposing counsel told me to appeal... [Georgia]

Question:
Sorry for the length of this.... I have to sum up what happened so you get the picture.  Last night was like a bad trip and I am trying to process it all.

So, Last night I was in Magistrate court over a financial civil matter. Magistrate court seemingly has no rules.  They have no rule of attachment and discovery isn't allowed. The judge never was an attorney and has no background in law.   So in a paraphrased nutshell, the other side says, "This is what she owes and here is letter we sent her saying that." I said, "Prove that I owe that, please. Show me some sort of contract or agreement." The Judge says, "They don't have to.  They sent this letter to your house.  What do you have to prove that it isn't your debt?"  When I couldn't produce anything "legal" saying it wasn't my debt, she passed judgment on me. I told her that the "original creditor" listed on the lawsuit doesn't own the debt that the people suing me did, and that the original company told me that they don't have an account in my name and I had the recording of that call, since they wouldn't send me anything in writing and she told me "whoever you talked to is wrong".  There was no proof in what the opposing counsel had as to who owned the debt at all so she had no proof either.   She even told me things weren't a law or requirement "in Georgia" when I had copies of the laws and rules printed out right in front of me and referenced them.  I was totally baffled.  I had a job that had me in court rooms a lot and have never seen a judge completely toss out the idea of burden of proof.  The burden of proof should be on the person suing me not me.

After I walked out I sat down at a row of chairs in the hallway to look for my car keys and drink some water.  The opposing counsel walks out and sees me.  He sits down next to me and tells me that Magistrate court is called "play court".  He made sure I knew that I could appeal and should appeal, and nothing that was ruled that night was permanent, and that State court would handle things differently. He then told me that the request for production was ignored by the other side because Magistrate court doesn't enforce discovery but couldn't be ignored in State court and that the entity suing me would not be able to produce the required information in State court.  He also told me that if I don't appeal, when the entity that won the judgment calls me to try to collect to only say, "I am disabled, don't call me anymore." And hang up on them and they will eventually get the message and put me in the "uncollectible" file.  He walked with me out of the court house as well.  Then he made it clear to me again that I could appeal and that I was "uncollectible". This is strange behavior for opposing counsel, correct?

When we first spoke before court started I told him that I was sick.  I have a really bad cold, fever and all.  He came over to me twice during the process and talked to me to see if I was doing ok.  He made the comment that he can't believe they were suing me, knowing I was disabled, as well, and told me that he hates "just sitting around these court rooms".   So is this just a jaded older man that hates the people he works for and had compassion for me after he was "off the clock" or what...?

Answer: Not a lawyer, but it sounds like the opposing counsel was torn between two duties - justice, and acting in his client's interest. Spreading the story around could get him in trouble with the bar association for acting against his client's interest. If an uninvolved lawyer (someone from another case waiting their turn for the same judge) had given you the advice, there would have been no conflict. If you need to explain what you're doing, cite this other scenario (where you don't know the name of the lawyer who suggested making an appeal).Answer #2: Lawyers are human too.  And they like seeing justice served.  Answer #3: So you could in this alternate reality send them a certified letter saying that they owe you 2x what they were previously staying to collect? It should work both ways right? I mean a certified letter is documentation.


Title: [TX] Neighbor claiming I ruined her clothes.

Question:
In my apartment building there's a shared laundry with two washers and dyers. Each tenant has a box on the shelf with their apartment number on it to store their detergent/dyer sheets/etc. I always leave my detergent on the shelf in the box.

Yesterday my neighbor knocked on my door and told me that she used some of my laundry detergent and it ruined her clothes. She said she's contacting a lawyer on Monday and is going to sue me for the cost of her clothes(she claims its $5,000). The landlord is away for the weekend.

I never gave her permission to use my laundry detergent. She despises me, and also threatened to contact Immigration and claim my marriage isn't real.

What are the chances of her actually winning?

Answer:
 IANAL, but wouldn't this be extortion? that's something the police might pay attention to. Threatening to report your marriage not being real (if false) would be another obvious crime especially if you have a report. Also contact your landlord, explain the situation, and update us with responses of the police and your landlord.. (if my assumption is correct).Answer #2: Keep your detergent in your apartment from now on. I used to buy pods so I could bring one or two with my basket of clothes.

Ignore the crazy neighbor unless she sends you some actual court summons or a demand letter. I'm guessing she won't. When the landlord comes back, let him/her know what happened.Answer #3: Let's just put aside the lawsuit for a second, there is no chance any attorney takes that case. There is no chance of winning and, even if there was, there's no money to be made for them. Assuming she tells the lawyer what you told us, they'll either laugh them out of there or they'll nod politely for a bit, tell her they'll look into it, then send her a letter saying they can't help her.

I would tell the landlord whats going on as a courtesy, avoid her, and forget it ever happened. Don't fan the flames, a lot of the frivolous things that get brought to be were minor to begin with but neighbors started feuding and then I have to explain to them that having hurt feelings doesn't mean you have a legal claim.

Also, just a heads up, I would clear out your laundry box and keep it in your apartment. Maybe I'm a germaphobe, but I'm always worried someone with a petty grievance against me is going to tamper with my stuff.


Title: Contractor cashed check and never started work, then disappeared. Where should I start?

Question:
I wrote him a check to do some work on my house, he gave me a proposal/receipt from his company -- with dates, the check #, etc -- and said it would be done once he finished the house across the street. Then something came up and "his guys" would do it tomorrow. Then another excuse for the next day. Then he just stopped responding to texts and phone calls. No work was done, yet he cashed the check. I have all of his name, DOB, phone #, address, etc. And from a quick search online, it turns out he has pulled this stunt before. He took <$500 so I'm not sure where to start. Anything specific I should tell him in my communications to him?

Thanks!

Answer:
 He took money from you under false pretenses. It's not like he did the work and just did a crappy job. He straight up took your money and hit the bricks.

Did it really not occur to you to report this to the police?


Title: NY resident got speeding ticket while driving 91 in 55 in MA

Question: i was driving my dads car (dont have any in my name) and got pulled over clocked at 91 in 55. $310 fine and want to know whats my best method of going about this in terms of if the points will matter. also will my dads insurance go up or will he be needed for any action or be notified? also how do the points work for out of state?

Answer:
 Are you on your dad’s insurance? Because your insurance will certainly go up. The points will follow you. You’re lucky you didn’t get your license taken away on the spot, that’s incredibly dangerous to be driving that fast. There are other people on the road too.
I would imagine your father would find out either way since it is his car you were driving.


Title: Fitness studio charging my account when they are closed due to water damage for a month, can they charge me?

Question:
Like the title says the fitness studio I go to had water damage and originally were only going to be closed for a week and they said they would give us a week free. Now they are going to be closed for all of September and not offering any services at the studio. I signed a 1 year contract March 2015 that takes auto payments off of my credit card. As of March 2016 I am month to month, I did not sign a new contract. The studio owner fully intends to charge me for this month and my payment is slated to come out on the 8th of September. I have not been at the studio since August 24 2016 if that is important to know.

My main question is can she charge me? And if not what can I do to either get my money back or stop it before it happens? It cost $156 per month and it is a lot of money I could use to go somewhere else and train. I have access to the credit card information on my account that I could also delete but I want to know if I can even do that. TIA everyone.

Edit: forgot to add I am in Canada
Edit: also my credit card is still auto paying month to month

Answer:
 Are they offering services elsewhere?

(Might seem a weird question, but sometimes the space is just that and the equipment isn't all that important.)


Title: Uber driver, two men had oral sex in the back of my car last night

Question: During the ride I heard what sounded like a lot movement during the ride and was suspicious they were doing something. I have a dash camera and  a sign posted in my car that audio/visual recording is taking place. After dropping them off I watched the video and you can clearly see one guys head going up and down in others lap. I'm really grossed out by this \(nothing against gay people\) because someone having sex in the back of my car grosses me out. I just want to make some money giving people rides and this whole situation stresses me out. I'm seriously considering consulting with an attorney and filing a civil case against them. Am I wasting my time, any advice?

Answer: Yes, you're wasting your time.


Title: What are the ramifications of giving your EpiPen or Narcan to someone who could otherwise die without it?

Question:
If you know the symptoms and recognize that the person is in need of medication, is it illegal to administer it while waiting for medical assistance?

You have a civil duty to help someone if you can, would it be negligent if you didn’t, according to Pennsylvanian laws and other states in the US?

Answer:
 >You have a civil duty to help someone if you can, would it be negligent if you didn’t

This is generally untrue in most of the United States, including Pennsylvania. There are certain circumstances that can impart a duty (your job, you causing the harm...), but as a bystander, you generally have no duty to render aid or call for help. Answer #2: Nurse and EMT here: under no circumstances should anyone who is not currently acting in a public safety or public health capacity, and who has an active healthcare license permitting implied consent treatment of the general public, ever administer an emergency medication to a stranger. If, for example, your mom is allergic to peanut butter and HAS a prescribed epipen autoinjector-then you are clear to administer it (provided you can differentiate btw. anaphylaxis and say a heart attack or syncopal episode). Hope that was clear. Never give narcan to a stranger, even if you know how-i carry a 2mg vial on my person at all times but I would never use it outside a clinical setting...junkies love law suits.Answer #3: Country and state/province is important here.Answer #4: Pharmacist here with a Pennsylvania license. You may legally obtain narcan from many pharmacies WITHOUT a prescription. You may also take a narcan course online for free in the event that you feel you may need to use narcan on a friend or family member. The Pennsylvania pharmacists association website has some good info in this if you are interested.
Using an epipen on someone who does not have a prescription would not be a good idea. Answer #5: Unless you are a trained doctor, you cannot administer it to someone else of it's prescribed to you.


Title: Tips being confiscated [VA]

Question:
So I work at a restaurant where all the tips for the week are gathered together then distributed between the counter workers every week based on hours work. It’s a fair system but today something was added that I think might be illegal.

If a front register is short any money (which can be from anything from stealing to forgetting to cash out an order), the amount the drawer is short at the end of the night is taken out of the full pool of tips, even though the blame can be placed on either the manager checking out the drawer for miscounting or the one person who’s assigned to that register making a mistake.

So a girl was short $30 today and now as a result of that $30 is being taken from the full pool of tips, resulting in all of us losing money even if we weren’t working that day. Is this legal?

Answer: IANAL but that can't possibly be legal. In the US, as far as i understand, tips are YOUR money (the tipped workers), even if you're forced to pool/split them. They do not belong to the store or the register at any point.


Title: (Wisconsin)My girlfriend was out and got an underage drinking ticket, the weird part is she blew a .00 on two different breathalyzers.

Question:
Ok so my girlfriend was at Camp Randall to watch the Badgers game, and she had been having trouble the past couple of days with passing out. She took two shots at 12, but made sure to eat some food and drink two bottles of water immediately. So fast forward to around 2pm, and she is at the game, and boom, she passes out again. A police officer saw her pass out and came over to see what was up. He grabbed her and began to question her on the spot if she had been drinking, she said no, and then he told her he could smell it so she mentioned that she had two shots of stuff. He then took her aside by other cops and had her blow in a breathalyzer. It came up .00, which he evidently didn't believe, so he had her go again on a different one, same result, .00. She also got a blood test and again, no alcohol.

He then proceeded to give her an underage drinking ticket and eject her from the stadium. Is this legal? I mean he had no proof other than her saying she drank earlier, but she said that while she was recovering from passing out, and she passed the tests.

Answer:
 Okay, but she drank alcohol underage and admitted it to a police officer two hours after doing it.  Seems pretty open and shut. Answer #2: it's entirely possible at 2pm she metabolized the alcohol.  but her admission of guilt along with "drunken" behavior is probably enough to write the ticket.  Answer #3: > and then he told her he could smell it so she mentioned that she had two shots of stuff.

Case closed.Answer #4: > she mentioned that she had two shots of stuff.

That is all the cop needs to give an underage drinker an MIP. The breathalyzer at that point is irrelevant.

>  I mean he had no proof other than her saying she drank earlier

What more proof does the cop need? She admitted it. Plus, she smelled of alcohol. Who cares about the breathalyzer? She wasn't driving. For this case it was only to be used as another piece of evidence that she was drinking at some point that evening. But the fact that enough time had passed to complete the metabolism (for testing purposes) is irrelevant since she admitted it and still smelled of alcohol. Answer #5: She admitted she had been drinking. What more do you think the police officer needed beyond a confession?


Title: [OK] Energy Company appears to be Stealing Solar Energy from our Solar Array. Do we need to Retain a Legal Professional?

Question:
I work for a company with a large solar array that added to our building a year ago. We use the solar energy immediately in our operations but any energy we do not use is returned to the grid. Anything extra, we buy from the energy company.

On the weekends, we have no production running and should be able to generate enough energy to receive the credits on our bills. We have been hit with very high bills since last December and the solar company is unable to explain why despite trying to contact them multiple times. We receive information on the bills inferring that we have returned a very low number of kilowatts. Because of this, we receive a very tiny amount of energy credits.

I calculated the amount that our solar array from a very basic software program installed by the solar panel company. The numbers do not line up and we should be receiving far more credits.

There is no other energy company in the area, thus preventing us from switching provider.

We have had a difficult time understanding precisely what is going on, the energy company cannot seem to explain it, and in the meantime, we are having all the extra energy stolen and barely anything credited.

Is it time to invest in a lawyer or is this something that can be handled in a different way?

Thank you!

Answer:
 Your business/employer should already have legal counsel retained on the business' behalf.Answer #2: You need to know exact solar production and exact consumption to really know.

Does your array have a PV production meter in the setup? (It should if it was installed correctly)

Sounds to me like you have a bad solar company/install. Utilities don't just steal power, they meter it and charge what is used.

Your first step is figuring out exact production from the system over the life/last months/year. If it doesn't meet expected output, you need a diagnostic to determine the cause (could be down mods or inverter or optimizers/microinverter depending on what your system is)

Then you need to know your consumption and subtract the difference to know your bill.

My company always installs a revenue grade meter on the system to have a hard line backup for electronic/wireless monitoring systems that tend to go down.

Either your using more or your system is producing less than it should. OR you were sold a system that is producing fine but you were lied to about expected production.

What state are you in and what company did you use for your solar installation. I can possibly help more. But you are way before the 'call a lawyer' stage. I work as a solar engineer and see this happen all the time. Typically it is from increased consumption or sometimes it is a actual system malfunction. Never heard of a utility company stealing energy, although I suppose it's possible in theory.


Title: Can landlord prevent tenants from having alcohol on the premise in California?

Question:
State: California
City: Los Angeles

My question is regards to an individual lease for a bedroom in an apartment. The apartment is leased by bedrooms and we all share a common space. Attached to the lease, we were given a document called “House Rules”. Coming from NY, I have never seen house rules as part of a lease, but that’s besides the point.

One of the house rules states the following:

“Any resident who drinks excessively, uses premises for illegal activity or commits a nuisance will be subject to eviction.”

The landlord came into the apartment last night in order to show a prospective tenant a vacant bedroom and stumbled upon two bottles of alcohol. The landlord then took pictures of the bottles and attached it to an email that stated this:

“Attached 2 pictures I got from last night, as you know, we asked all of you : alcohol, smoking and parties can not be held inside the apartment and this is your final warning.”

Now from my interpretation, I don’t believe the house rules has anything to do with having alcohol, but instead using it in a disruptive manner. Now my housemates and I believe the landlord is overstepping the boundaries of the lease by preventing the consumption or having alcohol on the premise when the “House Rules” that were attached to the lease do not mention that.

Am I viewing this incorrectly and is the landlord able to prevent the consumption/having alcohol  based on what I signed?

Answer:
 Your landlord cannot just add rules as they feel like it and have them be enforceable. Answer #2: Does it say anywhere alcohol is banned? It just seems like excessively drinking is banned. To me to sounds like you can have 1000 bottle of alcohol, and not drink it and still be ok. Tell him to bugger off.Answer #3: Unless the rules were very specific as to the presence/use of alcohol in the lease documents you signed upon agreeing to rent your room then no. I see it as excessive partying and having the cops called kind of 'rule'.

There should be some kind of landlord/tenant office in your area to confirm, but unless you are living in some kind of 'sober living' situation where the obvious assumption would be no alcohol or drugs present then your landlord is an idiot. Contact someone there and ask the question.

Your landlord may be in violation of subletting depending on where you live or possibly having too many people in one apartment i.e. slum lord tactics. If this a-hole shows up unannounced with a prospective tenant, this may also be in violation unless you all agreed he/she can do this.


Title: [FL] Potential employer threatening to pull contract if I talk to a lawyer?

Question:
My son will turn 18 years old this year and is an aspiring race car driver. He is looking to move out of amateur karting into some lower level semi-pro Indy-type cars this year.

We have been in contact with a guy who owns a team on the lowest 'league' of the pro racing minor leagues, if you will. He is interested in giving my son a tryout in a test later this month at Sebring with the possibility of a contract to drive the car for the 2017 season but he sent us a contract (covering the test and an option for the season, basically contract needed before test session because he is asking us to indemnify him for costs if my son smashes up the car in the tryout) and told us we had 48 hours to sign, take it or leave it. I said I wanted to get an attorney to read it first, he said if we got an attorney he would consider it "negotiation" and he would pull his offer. He added all his drivers and their parents had signed it without issue.

Is this legal? Could we later get this contract voided if we showed correspondence where he said we couldn't get our own representation? This sort of demand is just shocking to me because we went to a seminar on how to get your kid to professional racing and one of the things their said was to have a sports attorney look at every contract before you sign anything.

Answer:
 for the love of god do not sign that agreement without having a lawyer look it over. Answer #2: Any conversation with a Lawyer would be confidential.  If you have a lawyer look at it and he says sign it, no foul.  There is no requirement that you tell him.

If the lawyer says don't sign, you probably shouldn't anyway.Answer #3: He's allowed to do that.

> Could we later get this contract voided if we showed correspondence where he said we couldn't get our own representation?

Doubtful. If you sign the contract, you agree to the terms.


Title: Constant Trespassers on Rural Property [Canada]

Question:
[Western-Canada]

I am only 20 years old and was practically forced to occupy my dad's land (now mine) for fear of currently unmovable possessions possibly getting stolen/stripped/raided.

I inherited an extremely large amount of rural forestland from my father. It's about a 4 Kilometers distance from the city limit. It's almost completed surrounded by steep mountains and cliffs except for the side you drive into.

Long story short there are only two areas were trespassers can enter my property, both of which are near each-other and are clear cutted so I can monitor the entrance from far away. The ENTIRE property is barb-wire fenced.

The problem is that my land is very close to a large city, and the dirt roads leading to my property and crown land (Y road) are easily accessible. Many random people drive up the dirt roads everyday (including dirtbikes,quads), and MANY of them drive into my property (only one way in and out) They ignore the plethora of clearly visible no trespassing signs and when I stop them on the road(or on foot) I ask what they are doing, they usually say they are looking for directions or they are lost/exploring. People on quads and dirtbikes usually drive away from me and chew up my land on purpose.

Another land owner that owns property behind mine (meaning they have to use my road) doesn't want to have the front gate constantly locked, and because of some stupid regulatory law I must do what he wants in terms of said above, this can't be disputed unless I could come up with a few million to buy him out (obviously not happening)

To make things worse people are illegally hunting and shooting near my trailer (deer come close because of my wild garden). I woke up one morning to hear bullets whizzing noises within 20-100 feet from my trailer. I tried looking online but all the laws are extremely vague and indirect. Contact a lawyer???? Police? I am worried about trying to talk to the police because they are very finicky and anti-gun, if I even said something that could be interpreted as "wrong" I wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea and take my guns away...

Given the situation my questions are..

A.I want to put signs like this around the potential entrance points Do you think this would be illegal?
http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mWs4zGeBR2-jKMu0KmkKq6A.jpg

B.Can I approach vehicles or people that are driving/wandering on my land with a firearm? As said before the entire area is fenced and covered in "(Private Property-Do not enter)" signs.
The signs on the dirt road coming into my property are also solar illuminated for when people "trespass" in the night.

C. What should I do when people on quads/motorbikes purposefully drive on my land? Am I allowed to pull a firearm and shoot it in the air or something?

I know this seem a little "extreme", but it can get very hectic here. Especially the party kids or metal thieves that come at 3AM.

Answer:
 People were shooting past your house and you don't want to call the cops? You just want to threaten trespassers with guns.

Troll Game: weak.Answer #2: You're afraid the cops might take your guns for "saying" the wrong thing, but you propose firing one "into the air" to scare off trespassers?

I think someone should take your guns, you sound like an idiot.


Title: (MA) My employer is misleading employees into signing arbitration agreements. Do I have any recourse?

Question:
Hi folks.

I work for a medium-large Massachusetts company that has recently been acquired by a much larger entity. As a part of the transition, current employees must fill out new-hire paperwork for the new company, and submit them within 3 days of employment.

Two of these are standard, an I-9 and an intellectual property / confidentially agreement, both of which are conditions of employment. However, there is a third form, an arbitration agreement, that waives all rights to civil litigation, including class action, and forces disputes into binding arbitration. Buried in the fine print is a clause that this agreement is actually optional (which I suspect is because they can't compel people to sign it or else they would , but I'm unsure).

My company has not made any indication that this agreement is non mandatory. I asked them to note that it was not required, because people I spoke to had no idea either of the implications of arbitration or that it was optional, but I  got stonewalled. They have included this in several lists of required documents that need to be completed, or implicitly risk termination.

Is this illegal and are there any agencies I could report this to? It feels incredibly shady. The deliberate lack of transparency makes it look like the company is unethically trying to mislead employees into waiving  important rights. The contract itself states that it is non mandatory, but statements ABOUT the contract imply that it is.

Answer: You are free to not sign the arbitration agreement and your co-workers have the same choice. You can't act as their lawyer telling them what to sign and not to sign.


Title: [VA] Can a landlord have a door to the house that is kept locked but the tenant is not provided a key for?

Question:
I know Virginia is a pretty landlord-friendly state, but I also couldn’t find anything by googling this. So for my situation, front screen door is kept locked and I often have to ring the doorbell to get into the house, even though I have a key to the deadbolt of the front door. I’m just curious if I have a legal right to a key to the screen door or for it to not be kept locked.

I honestly really like my landlord and wouldn’t make a stink either way, I guess I’m just curious.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 NAL. You should have reasonable access to your rented space. That should generally include getting in the front door.

Does your landlord also live there?

Next time it happens, I’d probably casually ask if you can get a key to the screen door so you don’t have to ring the doorbell.


Title: Texas - Does an eviction notice absolutely mean going to court?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You must go to court to force them to leave. The sheriff will not physically remove anyone without a court order.


Title: (Ralston NE) Owner's brother threatened physical violence because I asked him not to smoke in my work area

Question:
This is my first post ever, so please bear with me.
I work for a company that builds interior and exterior door frames. About two months ago, I asked an employee of my company's sister company, who installs the door frames I build, to not smoke in my workshop, as it is a violation of company policy, illegal, and dangerous in a woodworking shop. The employee, who is the owner of the two companies brother, wouldn't put out his cigarette, and said to me "You're not the boss of me" at least six times and stormed out of my work area. I went to the office immediately and told the managers who were in there "if another person comes into my shop who is smoking, I'm going to spray them with a fire extinguisher." One of my managers, who is the owner's other brother, laughed and said "Okay. who are you talking about." I told him it was his brother. He laughed some more and told me that is fine.
Today the previous offender came into my work area smoking a cigarette. I told him to put it out, to which he replied again screaming at me " you're not the boss of me!" I grabbed a fire extinguisher and told him I'll put his cigarette out. He reached into a crate of aluminum scrap next to him and pulled out a long piece that he raised at me, threatening that he would hit me with it. I held the trigger of the extinguisher, ready to extinguish his cigarette, and I didn't back down. He had the aluminum piece raised at me and at first wasn't backing down. He eventually put the piece of aluminum back in the bin, and stormed out of the shop.
I went to the office and told his brother, my manager, what had happened. He told me that he would fill out some paperwork and turn it into the owner, his brother, once he came in that day.
Working for the company for over a year, I know nothing will come of this paperwork. I am completely lost as to what I can do about my situation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Are you daft? You threatened to assault him with a fire extinguisher.


Title: Question about my vehicle apparently being tapped

Question:
I own a vehicle that has mic-enabled technology in it. Someone is either hacking into it or silently calling into it and eavesdropping on the activity inside it. They are also tracking it's location, and when the people who know it's whereabouts come around they are unpredictable and sometimes aggressive/rude.

Question—is it legal to 'tap' the phone on a vehicle? Is it OK to intimidate me about what is happening inside the vehicle?

Answer:
 Have you tested the vehicle for carbon monoxide emissions?Answer #2: Ok, I'll bite. How do you know it's being tapped?Answer #3: >when the people who know it's whereabouts come around they are unpredictable and sometimes aggressive/rude.

Who are these "people"??Answer #4: IANAL:

This may be a case in which someone is trying to repossess the OP's vehicle, which could explain why they're tracking it's location and when they confront the OP they are being 'aggressive/rude' in demanding he return the vehicle. Someone can legally track a vehicle if they own it. I did this myself once. If the bank still owns the vehicle, then they may have the right to put a tracking device on it or enable certain features of smarter cars. Perhaps a lawyer could chime in on this.

As far as eavesdropping on your conversations in the car using a phone, that is a different matter. How do you know they're eavesdropping on you? I believe the only condition that enables someone from the outside to access your phone remotely is if your car indicates it has been in an accident (e.g. deployed air bag).

But yes, more details would be needed to assist you further.Answer #5: Did you buy this car from one of those shady dealerships that may have put a clause in your contract about them being able to listen in or track it? Especially if you are behind on payments at all?

Not saying it's legal, just that this may be an explanation of why. Answer #6: > is it legal to 'tap' the phone on a vehicle?

Generally not.


Title: Disabled girl's dad wants to put cameras in her apartment

Question:
EDIT: She resides in Californa.

EDIT: She actually does pay $650 towards rent using her disability money. Rent is $1,090 total.

Guys, my friend is in a weird situation with her dad and I wanted to get your opinions plus any helpful information so I can show her what other people have to say.

My friend is a 25 year old female with cerebral palsy. She is on disability because it is difficult for her to work, but she does have a job where she works one day a week. She recently moved into an apartment with her dad and her roommate's mom as cosigners, but not residents. How it basically works is, he pays her rent and she pays for her living expenses. Well, she has a new boyfriend that her dad found out about through the roommate's mom. My friend wants her boyfriend to be able to come over and hang out at the apartment and her roommate has no issues with that. My friend’s dad and the roommate’s mom do have issues with it.

My friend’s dad is forbidding the boyfriend from visiting the apartment because, as he tells her, "You don't choose good men to be with and you don't always make good decisions." My friend felt this command was overstepping her boundaries as an adult. She told her dad that although he is assisting her financially and she appreciates that, she is still an adult and has the right to make that decision for herself. She feels that it is between her and her roommate to decide whether or not the boyfriend can come over, not their parents. My friend’s dad insisted that the boyfriend can’t go over and said, “We are going to put security cameras in [the apartment] so [the roommate’s mom] knows [the roommate] will be safe.”

A. What’s your opinion of this situation?
B. Is it legal for her dad to install cameras in the apartment?

Answer: Unless there is a legal requirement he pay her rent, she may not want to rock this boat. If she does, be prepared to pay rent. If thats not an issue, move and leave overbearing dad in rearview. Shes 25, if she can fend for herself she can, if she needs her dad's money, get that money honey cause he is under no obligation to provide it.


Title: Classmate records we without consent and posts it to social media.

Question: I have a classmate that filmed me doing something embarrassing, and saw he was trying to film me. I asked him not to, and he did anyways. Now, when I asked him to delete it. He said he did. I was on the school bus later that day when one of my friends showed me he has POSTED THE VIDEO on social media and lied to me about deleting it. My friend even sent me a text message saying; “don’t tell OP that I posted it Lol!” What should I do?

Answer: It sounds like you're in high school. You can call the principal and request that the student be punished, but as far as police involvement, the student didn't commit any crimes unless the video was taken where you had a reasonable expectation of privacy, like a bathroom.


Title: Can someone please simply glance over my letter to vacate to my landlord? I live in Alabama.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It sounds like you are on a fixed term lease. If that is the case, a leaky faucet and mold in a bathroom are probably not going to be sufficient grounds to break your lease, unless the mold is caused by some underlying structural and/or habitability issue that violates housing codes.


Title: Police Dept Threw Out My Rape Kit, Anything I Can Do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: I'm sorry to tell you this but the police have no specific duty to pursue any given crime. If in their judgement the evidence was insufficient they did not have to move forward with the investigation


Title: I just realized that I never returned my amazon rented college textbooks

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >I want to just return them, but I'm afraid they're going to try to hit me with a bunch of fees I can't afford.

They can charge fees because you agreed to them when you rented the book. You won't be arrested for a civil issue.


Title: Unscrupulous Lyft Driver

Question: Not sure if this is the right spot or not, but hopefully someone has some advice. I took a lyft last night with 2 other friends back from the bar. The car was a little dirty but nothing outrageous. Got back to my home with no problems, and the lyft driver didn't say anything was wrong. Wake up this morning to a $100 damage fee from Lyft, the driver said one of us threw up in the back seat. I looked at the photo and it just looks dirty (like it was when we hopped in). To verify I asked everyone if they threw up and they said no. When I emailed lyft back they made it seem like the decision is final.... Does anyone have any advice or experience like this? If it matters I'm in Florida

Answer: Vomit fraud: http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/07/vomit-fraud-beware-uber-drivers-fake-puke-claims.html


Title: Child grooming in online gaming

Question:
Before continuing - I understand that this may be a sensitive topic for some people. - Also apologies if this is in the wrong subreddit!

Hello everyone,

I'm a final year student studying Computer Security with Forensics, and my dissertation is 'Using Forensic Analysis to capture child groomers using online gaming'. Part of my project is times this has been discussed in the media or at a court of law
I'm currently looking for cases in which this has happened, where a groomer has met a victim online (from a PC game) and how they did it. Preferably with case names (I have access to law records, but anything is acceptable).

Things I am looking for:
What game they met on, how the groomer did it, any records of what happened at court, how the groomer was caught (preferably using forensic techniques but anything is acceptable).

I've already contacted companies about my project, they rejected as it's confidential data, which is understandable but doesn't hurt to ask, and everyone I know in the professional field is also unable to help as they don't actually know any cases.

Thank you.

Personally i'm from the UK but cases anywhere from around the world are helpful.

Answer: Case research is not cheap. You need to do the research on Lexus Nexus or other sites.


Title: Pennsylvania; My Brother & his daughter are living with my Mother and she wants him out

Question: He is a druggy and living at her house, She wants him out but wont do anything. She complains about him being there. She doesn’t t have a lease on her apartment so there is no binding contract saying he can’t stay but she’s been through this before. Is there anything I can do to get him kicked out for good?

Answer:
 > She wants him out but wont do anything.

To get him out, she has to do something. If he's not on a lease with anyone, he's a de facto month to month tenant, and she can give him 30 day written notice to vacate. Then if he leaves, great, she can change the locks. And call the police if he returns. If he doesn't leave within the 30 days, she takes him (really, them) to court and evicts them. Once the sheriff comes to remove them, then she can change the locks. And call the police if he returns.


Title: Eviction of mentally ill family member

Question:
Does anyone know how to evict a mentally ill family member who is on disability? My brother is on a section 8 housing waitlist but it could take 4 more years. He is 40yo and has explosive outbursts, depression, suicidal ideations, epilepsy and debilitating arthritis. I don't feel safe in my own home anymore. I'm a single female. I constantly walk on eggshells. He has stolen my peace and quiet. I want to kick him out, but I don't want him to be homeless. He doesn't have the knowledge or ambition to be self sufficient and find a place on his own. He has been denied several times by Dept of Mental Health. He recently threatened his counselor and psychiatrist, so he can longer be seen there, nor get his meds filled (which will make his mood even worse). Any advice is much appreciated!
Topic:
Disability Issues

Answer:
 OP- You likely first need to provide him 30 days notice to vacate. If he ignores that, then you can proceed with the eviction.

If you ever feel like you're in immediate danger (or like he's a danger to himself), your recourse is to call the police.


Title: Girlfriends car got stolen and towed now she has to pay $105

Question: Ok title explains it we would go in and dispute the fee but it isn't open until Monday and she needs her car. Can we dispute it after we pay? Any options?

Answer: You can sue the car thief.  The tow company deserves to get paid, and the city/county aren't the ones who stole her car.   I know this sucks ass -- I had it happen to me once when my car stalled in the middle of an intersection as the thief was running from the cops. (It stalled because the screwdriver they were using to keep the ignition closed snapped.  Gotta love 70's Chevys)


Title: DUI Manslaughter charge over a year later?

Question:
Not me, but someone close to me. I recently learned that he had just been arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter maybe 2 weeks ago. The event happened over a year ago. He had drinks with his girlfriend during dinner, they drove home (he was the driver), it was raining, the car hydroplaned and they hit a tree, I believe. He was injured pretty badly, but she was DOA I think. She had not been wearing her seat belt.

He's been extremely stressed out lately, apparently they told him he was looking at a minimum of 10 years? I've looked online and it says no less than 6 months for a first offense. He has no priors, never been in trouble with the law, served in the military, squeaky clean record. How bad is this situation for him really?
Topic:
DUI

Answer:
 How bad are manslaughter charges? Bad. Very bad. Hire an attorney immediately bad. Answer #2: Well he made a criminally bad decision which led to the death of another person- he will very possibly go to prison for a few years, and face nearly certain civil damages after that.

So yeah, it's pretty serious.


Title: Got told to delete photos off my Instagram of my ex-friends' daughter. Is this enforceable?

Question:
WA State, USA. Military.
This is going to sound so petty...but I'd like to know my rights here.

I work in customer service. A few weeks ago, my Sgt and another Sgt (both good friends of mine) got into an altercation. I recorded it on my phone for protection because, when shit hits the fan, I record any time I can. If nothing happens, there is no loss.

But something did happen. It was just them yelling slurs at eachother (ex. "Lazy bitch"), no physical fights. I was in the office and once I heard the tone of Sgt 1 when she spoke to Sgt 2, I started recording.

Well, someone complained and I got called in as witness because I told my manager I had a recording if she wanted to listen to it to clear this up (now I recognize that as my own mistake). Our high ranking guys called me in and I got questioned and was asked to make a copy of the disc...so I did.

Sgt 1 got told there was a recording and she has distanced herself from me because if it. Which is fine and all, I dont mind her protecting herself... But she asked me to take photos down on my personal private Instagram account where it shows me and her daughter in a photo together. Sgt 1 cant see these photos because she unfollowed me. She (i assume) got advised to text me professionally about removing them. I refuse until I know its enforceable. I think it's a fucking joke and I'm cracking up over it honestly.

Can she force me to remove photos that I cherish? That's a part of my life and a kid I love like my own, so I'm not just going to back down because of texts.

Answer:
 You know that IG isn't your only option for keeping those photos, right? You can store them on your own hard drive and/or have prints made.

You don't have a legal issue. The legal system provides no mechanism to force you to take these photos down. Instagram's TOS does, though, and she can request that *they* take the photos down. They very well could.


Title: Mercedes MFG Warranty Refusal

Question:
Hey all, first post on this subreddit. To be honest I'm very unfamiliar with cars and was looking for some advice. My father purchased a 2013 Sprinter back in Sept 2013 and recently experienced an engine failure. A bit of backstory; he had been getting routine servicing and oil changes at an independent shop since the rates that the dealership charged were very high respectively. Last week (Friday evening) he went to the independent shop for a routine oil change. After the oil change while driving home the engine seized after only driving a couple of miles. He had it towed back to the mechanic and left it there over the weekend. He then had it towed back to the Mercedes dealership on Monday to have the engine looked at. The vehicle came with a standard 5 year (100K mile) factory warranty on the engine but Mercedes is now refusing to honor that warranty for the following reasons:
They have no proof of oil changes since they were not performed at the dealership; although we have submitted invoices and a signed affidavit from the independent shop's owner stating that the correct services were performed.

- The oil was "clean" when the van arrived which was cause for suspicion since diesel oil is supposed to blacken very quickly, even after only being driven for a few miles (I have no idea how true or false this is).
- In the dealerships defense the invoices that were provided lacked a lot of key information (VIN #/grade of oil used) which is why I supplemented the invoices with the signed statement.

Any advice on next steps? They are quoting around 25K to fix the engine and that is just money we do not have.  But my father's work requires this van so we really need to reach a resolution. The lemon law won't apply here (state of Virginia) because that expires after 18 months of owning/operating the vehicle.  Is the onus on the consumer (my father and I) to prove that we serviced the engine properly or is it on Mercedes to prove we did not?
If this is something I try to take to court will I get destroyed?
Topic:
Insurance

Answer:
 The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which is enforced by the FTC, makes it illegal for manufacturers or dealers to claim that your warranty is void or to deny coverage under your warranty simply because someone other than the dealer did the work.

You have proven the work was completed to standard by a mechanic. They will try their hardest to disprove, but ultimately, you may need to hire an attorney to scare them a bit.


Title: Child not taken to court for a paternity test

Question:
Not me but my sister.

BACKSTORY:
My sister has joint custody of her daughter with the baby sitters, who happen to be my son’s relatives from his father side. The babysitters filed emergency custody because my sister threatened to keep the baby away from them since they would always withhold the baby from my sister. They also did this to me with my child but it didn’t work out the way they wanted it to. The babysitters were rewarded joint custody, Wednesdays, Thursday’s and every other weekend, until the final hearing that is schedule is January since there is no strong proof that my sister is an unfit mother. The baby’s father requested a paternity test so he could potentially petition the custody from the babysitters.

Today they didn’t show up for the paternity test even though my sister reminded them it was today and they received a subpoena in the mail, and got hit with contempt.

So what happens now, since they didn’t show up?

I need all the information I can get to help her out and the courts won’t answer any of my calls.

Answer:
 She needs to hire an attorney.

Frankly, we are all confused at what you are attempting to tell us and are having major issues following your writing/story.


Title: Lost my job after I called to tell my boss my s/o was too sick to be left alone.

Question:
I’m on mobile so excuse any formatting issues. Names have been changed.

The title of this is a little bare only because I can’t really think of any other way to explain this. I’ve had probably the worst 5 days of my whole life and I can’t help but feel a little wronged in some way, I need some advice because all the other adults in my life don’t really have any other advice other than blaming me for losing my job. And maybe it was, I don’t know.

I was hired as a teacher at a local daycare in my hometown about a month ago. I was warned by the owner, who we will call Sharon, that you will get sick often due to the environment I’d be working in. I was advised to start multivitamins and to take lots of vitamin C to help boost my immune system. So it came to no surprise to me that I caught either Croup Cough/Bronchitis my second week in. Because I didn’t want it to spread, I missed around 3 days of work and went back in as soon as I could. A week later a virus was going around, knocking out teachers left and right. Most of them never really went home, and one girl did not eat for a solid week and still came to work. I caught it and it came with vomiting, diarrhea and what not but only had it for around 3 days. I called out because there were infants, and many young children there that could get it. I didn’t want a child to get sick and didn’t want to spread it. I missed 2 full days and a half a day of work because of it. Sharon did not seem to mind me calling in. In fact there were many other teachers and helpers that were also out sick.

 It’s also worth mentioning that while having sick employees and sick children ( kids would only go home if they had a fever of 100 or higher and if they had diarrhea 3 times ) running around not going home that they practiced poor cleaning methods. From what I was told, bleach was not to be used and they only cleaned all the toys maybe once every three months with the exception of legos that were cleaned in a very old sanitizing machine. Instead, everything was sprayed with Lysol at the end of the day or during the day while kids were still putting things in their mouths. Pillows were hardly washed and stuffed animals as well.

On December 7th, my boyfriend Chris came home ill. He was so sick that he could not even crawl into bed for at least an hour after coming in the door and laid at the foot of the bed. The next morning, Chris said he felt achy but was well enough to eat some toast and watched some movies. I figured it was just the flu so I left the house to go visit family around 5:30pm to celebrate my birthday. Around 10:15pm that night he texted me saying he was now vomiting and had diarrhea. Cool, I had that too so this should be over by tomorrow. I get home and he’s got a fever. Take care of him the best I can and I retire to the couch to give him some space. Chris was up all night with vomit and diarrhea. By 9:15am on December 9th he has a 104.6 fever. We go to Urgent Care and pay $75 just for them to tell us to go to the Emergency Room. I drive Chris to the ER, they get him pain relief and fluids. Tell him he has a G.I Infection and it can be cured at home. They give us prescriptions for anti-nausea medicine. $100 later we’re going home.

He starts to feel a bit better, so I go to bed early, thinking I’ll be going to work tomorrow. Around 2am the vomiting and diarrhea start up again. This time he’s in the bathroom for an hour at a time, dry heaving and crying. He can’t keep anything down, and it’s taking a toll on his body. I’m up all night helping him back and forth to the bathroom. Then he starts having bloody stool. After that, things calm down and he asks me to stay home. I oblige because he’s too weak to care for himself and nobody else is around to watch over him. I fall asleep around 4am on the 10th and wake up at 9:01, just as I’m supposed to be at work. I call Sharon, tell her that Chris and I have been up all night with bloody stool and vomiting. That was all I could get through before she says to me, “You know what, this isn’t working out. Thanks for all the help, goodbye.” And hung up.

 Chris got worse. He eventually collapsed naked on the floor of the bathroom, barely responsive. He soiled himself and the bed. I had to call 911 to have him taken to the ER for a 2nd time. There we waited 6 hours for a room. Chris became deathly pale and his joints began locking up again in the waiting room. I’ve never been so afraid in my entire life.

We got home finally again at 2am. A full night’s sleep and antibiotics in his system but the illness persisted today still. There isn’t anymore vomiting and he’s holding down food but he still can’t be by himself. I’ve been cleaning everything top to bottom.

We haven’t been billed yet, but out of of pocket we’ve spent over $200 on pills. Chris pays most of the bills for electricity and rent which is over $1000 a month. The ER bill is going to be huge and with him missing work is going to put a huge damper in our savings. And now, without a job he will have to buy the groceries and help with my insurance payments and credit card bills. On top of medical bills, this isn’t going to look good for us.

Her firing me was probably right, I did miss a fair amount of work but due to the nature of the job, I expected there to be more leniency because of how often you would get sick. It is the winter and children are Petri dishes. If I have a fever and I am throwing up, should I go to work and potentially get a infant/child or another co-worker sick? If yes, what would the consequences be if I got a compromised child sick and the parents backlashed against us? I would feel very wrong for doing such, but due to such low staff that was the vibe that was given off. If you are sick, come to work anyway. So, I come here asking for advice and any of it would be appreciated. If I am wrong in this area, please don’t hesitate to tell me why.

Thank you.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 It sucks, but legally there's nothing you can do. It's bad enough that *you* miss work, but when you miss work when you don't *have* to, you really aren't giving your employers much choice. My mom has worked in the public school system for over 30 years. She has caught everything. She was even exposed to TB at some point. That's just the nature of the job. You go to work sick a lot. You just try your best not to spread it. Answer #2: I can't fault your logic - if you're ill, you shouldn't be around kids.

On the other hand, in your first month (appx 25 working days), you missed, by my count, 7 days. Out of 4-6 weeks, you called out on (what would have been) three of them.  That's a lot.

Your location and if you had some kind of employment contract matters, but chances are you're in an at-will employment state and  not covered by FMLA due to the size of your employer (below 50 employees) and the length of time you'd worked there (not yet 12 months).

It sucks, but what happened is most likely legal, and you just had a lot of bad timing.


Title: Firing Employee who had a Relationship with Manager (Los Angeles, CA)

Question:
Hello!

I have a bit of a predicament that I do not have clear answers to from my upper division managers. I am a GM of a restaurant in Los Angeles, California.

I hired a waitress who later started to date my boss. They broke up 3 months after. Before and after they dated, her performance at work is mediocre at best. She calls of constantly and does the poorest job at cleaning and speaking with customers. I would like to lay her off but my boss says it's illegal for me to fire her due to their past relationship. I would say since she is the weakest link on my team, I would let her go for these reasons (I have written her up once and I constantly hold her hand to do her job).

Would my company be in a legal bind for suing (for sexual harassment, etc...) if I let this person go? I would love to but I do not want to jeopardize my company.

Thank you for any answers, Reddit.

Answer:
 > Would my company be in a legal bind for suing (for sexual harassment, etc...) if I let this person go? I would love to but I do not want to jeopardize my company.

It's not uncommon for people to sue in cases like this. If you have everything documented, and you are firing her based on documented performance that multiple people can attest to, then you have a strong case. It also helps that you are doing the firing, rather than your boss, but given she is directly in the chain of command, it still may cause an issue.

This is a question for your company's lawyer.


Title: I signed a deal (with financing) for a used car. Dealer sold the car to someone else.

Question:
I'm concerned about my options here. I am in the US, MA, Boston area. I am in a legal agreement with a bank for more than $10K, and now I'm not getting that car.
The dealer is saying they'll give us one that's a model year newer, same type of vehicle. I am going to visit the dealer on 10/29. I really have no other details except for some story they told my wife about "an error" and the car was sold the previous day.
I'm getting in touch with the bank, because I've never been in a situation like this, and I want *them* to know the story. I don't want any kind of bad credit problems or other repercussions as a surprise. I also don't trust the dealer to inform the bank in the same manner I would with all possible information.
Has anyone been through anything like this? Is there any legal ramifications I am missing and should be worried about? Do I need a lawyer? Honestly, this one has me stumped as how to best proceed. Thanks in advance.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 You might want to get a lawyer to look over the new paperwork the dealership might get you, because I'm sure this is a bait and switch. New terms and all that.

Definitely let the bank know that the car you were going to buy was sold to somebody else and then go to a different dealer because this one isn't trustworthy.


Title: South Carolina - damaged car as pedestrian when someone nearly hit me.

Question:
~2 weeks ago I was walking into a local pet store with my wife. This is in a major shopping center and right in front of the store is a cross walk. Before crossing from the parking area to the store I looked both ways and was clear; there was a car at a stop sign 100 feet away to my left (distance verified by google maps) that I couldn't tell if was turning left or right and no other cars. I step into the crosswalk and after a step or two my wife jerks me back while the car that was at the stop sign speeds past me, while swerving to avoid hitting me.

As it is going past I am alleged to have kicked out and hit her rear passenger door, leaving a small dent. The woman screeches to a halt (~20 feet away) and gets out cursing me. The only thing I said to her was, "You almost hit me in a crosswalk! Learn to pay attention." She shouted a few things I can't remember. I went into the store and did my business.

As I walked out she had parked and followed me to my car, took a picture of my wife and license plate, and threatened to have me arrested. She didn't say that she was calling the police at that time.

Yesterday a local investigator from the police station asked me to come down tomorrow to give and sign a written statement of my side. He said it's in my best interest to do this. I'm just looking for a second opinion to see if I should actually do this and, if so, what I should say.

What I think are relevant facts:

* I'm a pedestrian in a crosswalk. In South Carolina we have right of way as long as we are following traffic laws/signs.
* She was going an estimated 35-40mph from a dead stop to where she reached me, in a shopping center parking lot. The max limit for this area is 30, but I think it's actually less there.
* I was not in my car at the time nor was my car involved at all.
* I was not intending to damage anything, simply to frighten someone into paying attention when they very well could have killed me or my wife.

Any advice?

Answer:
 >I was not intending to damage anything, simply to frighten someone into paying attention when they very well could have killed me or my wife.

I've been in this situation.  I punched out reflexively as a car drove through a crosswalk nearly hitting me.  I might have even caused a dent in the rear quarter panel with my fist  (not sure since they just sped off).  I think they thought they hit me and just drove off like an ass who drives though crosswalks with people in it.

I have always thought about the situation and I've always believed that since I was reflexively acting in response to the threat to my safety the unintended and incidental damage to her car would have been a result of her assaulting me in the crosswalk.

I think you need to speak to an attorney.  The idea that you struck her car to "frighten her" or cause her to "pay attention" is likely not a very good or legal justification.  Under those facts, you might be liable for the damage to her car and/or could face legal assault charges for kicking a car with her in it in a threatening manner.

As is always wise in these situations, **I would contact an attorney and not speak to the police about this incident without representation.**  The lady is not afraid of you or the police as evidenced by her coming forward and reporting an incident where, according to you, she was in the wrong and nearly ran you over while you were rightfully in a crosswalk.  Get good legal advice now before this turns into a bigger problem.Answer #2: Just decline to talk to them.


Title: [USA - TN] How do I sue a call center?

Question:
So I've been getting student loan scam calls for the past year. I finally decided to start collecting information on the call center and I now have enough verifiable information (100+ calls, 12 saved voicemails, several websites owned by them, an LLC, physical addresses, LinkedIns, etc) that I want to pursue legal action. I haven't lost any money, but they are robo-dialing and calling numbers on the do not call list. I also care more about putting these people in jail and saving others from losing money.

As a note, they just changed their call center name this week or last and are now forwarding "clients" to other call centers in India, which they weren't doing before, so this could be huge if I can take them down.

Each violation is worth $500-1500, so the amount I'd be going after is too big for small claims court.

My question is: how? What kind of lawyer do I contact? Their main address is in California and at least one of the confirmed accomplices is in Florida.

Answer: You can't put anyone in jail for a civil suit. I also doubt they're truly operating from within the US, considering the vast majority of these scams are from overseas locations.


Title: [USA, MA] What problems could I run into if I release my vector art to the public domain? Am I better off retaining some rights, telling everyone they can use it as they please as long as they don't try to charge others for using it (ie Getty)?

Question:
I have Googled this pretty extensively, but most things I find are either too vague or heavily contradict other sources.

I'm just a hobbyist so I'm not making the next Mona Lisa, but I enjoy making vector graphics and icons. Lately, I've been able to make some that may actually be usable for people's projects, which was a goal of mine so I'm pretty happy about it.

Since I just do this for fun, and since I got started using public domain work as well as sites like Vecteezy, I want to release my work into the public domain. So I know to publish it under CC0.

However, I've seen horror stories of people being sent C&Ds for their own work after big sites like Getty or Shutterstock "steal" it and charge others for using it. Obviously, the creators themselves don't end up having to pay, but someone else may get scared and pay, or even buy it from the company from the get-go.

Essentially, I know if I release it into the public domain, I can't do anything if predatory companies take it and start charging people/sending out C&Ds. Because my style is icons, elements, and the like (my latest was a series of briefcases) I could actually see this possibly happening.

Another thing is, I don't want to be sued for using/promoting my own work. Obviously I'd win in court, but I work 6 days a week and am not a millionaire.

So, what should I do? Should I release it into the public domain, perhaps on a site such as Pixabay or WikiCommons that makes it clear that it's CC0? Or should I retain some rights so I can stop predatory companies? Trouble is, I think putting the art on sites such as Pixabay is the only way they're ever going to possibly be used by anyone, so retaining rights would reduce the odds of my work ever being utilized (which still may not happen, but a girl can dream!)

Sorry if this is rambling or a daft question! But I'd appreciate some insight.

Answer: Try the Creative Commons License. There are about 10 variants and one which fits your needs perfectly.  They are intended primarily for art, writing and photographic art.


Title: I confessed to having pedophilic thoughts on a forum and someone said they were going to tip the FBI to swing by and take my hard drives. Can they really do this?

Question: I had a meltdown one day and it just slipped, and I've been getting harassed and confronted over it for months. I've since began discussing my affliction openly when brought up and even used it to taunt the people who have been harassing me, and they've become convinced now that I'm a dangerous person and all sorts of other nonsense. In an especially heated engagement, one suggested that I probably had child porn and said he was sending a tip to the FBI. Considering that I never even confessed to committing any crimes, but also considering that he may have exaggerated the situation or even outright lied about it if not did things like present snips of conversations out of context, how likely is the FBI to actually show up at my door and snatch up all my electronics? They do properly investigate the credibility of these things before pursuing them, right?

Answer:
 The FBI would need a warrant to search your hard drives.    So, yes, they will have to investigate.    Since we don’t know exactly what you said, I wouldn’t want guess as to whether they could get one.Answer #2: >and even used it to taunt the people who have been harassing me,

What? "If you don't stop harassing me I'll molest your kid?"  That sort of taunt? Don't do that. You could get in trouble.Answer #3: I think the FBI has some experience with internet trolls, which for all intents and purposes is what you'll be assumed to be based off the given facts. If you're not seeing a mental health professional you should work on that. I don't know what's going on in your head, *but* I've dealt with unwanted thoughts (not sexual noes) in the past. You could be suffering from 'intrusive thoughts,' they are not a reflection of you as a person.


Title: (Washington) The majority owner of the bar I worked at for four years just shut the place down with no prior notice or warning and laid off 17 people including myself.

Question:
Are they required to pay us severance packages along with our last checks? I also had a verbal agreement with one of the other owners saying he would take care of me financially until I find something else, which he is now going back on. It feels like they are violating some labor laws and trying to brush this whole thing under the rug...

What can I do here? Anything?

Edit: Thanks for the responses everyone! Looks like I get to go on unemployment for the first time 'til I can find something else to do. Man,this whole situation feels like a bad breakup, I loved that bar...

Answer: Not unless you have a contract guaranteeing you severance. They do have to pay you for the hours you worked.


Title: Is a teacher getting in your face and screaming a form of assault or harassment?

Question:
**I am in the UK** Children/Young adolescents have the same protection by the law and same human rights as as a fully grown adult. However some teachers treat there pupils in violent and offensive ways. If you went out in the street and started bellowing in a random persons face so loud, close and aggressivly that they were covered with a thin vale of spit you can bet that you would tackled to the ground and arrested for assault. Is there some exception to the law stating that educators can assault their students this way, or is it just a convention that is generally accepted.
*Example:* My child has been screamed at so hard that they have felt intimidated, scared and anxious. The experience has caused them mild emotional trauma.
                            Thanks

Answer:
 Yelling at someone isn't violating their human rights, nor is it assault.  Well, on the street if it's a random person it could be assault because you don't know if that person will actually hit you, but in a classroom with a teacher it's not going to be considered assault.  Have you spoken with your child about what he/she is doing to piss off the teacher?  Have you sat down with the teacher to hear his/her side of things?  Have you spoken with the teacher's supervisors concerning said conduct? Answer #2: > bet that you would tackled to the ground and arrested for assault

Really?? Gawd, UK is different from USA. Screaming at someone loudly is about the one last thing you can do to a stranger with little consequences. The ole "I'm not touching you" defense.

Don't know about UK but this wouldn't be "harassment" in the USA. I recommend talking to whoever is the supervisor for the educator who you think is crossing the line.


Title: [FI] Ordered a game online that arrived only after I had already been refunded for it. | want to send the product back to them so am I legally responsible for the shipping fees?

Question:
[Site (spanish) that I ordered from](https://www.shop4es.com/)

The order arrived almost a month after the estimated time to arrive and I had already been
refunded. After contacting them they said I could either send it back to them and pay the shipping fees myself or to buy the product again. Their returns policies don‘t mention this type of case on their site.

My question is do I have the right to demand to
carry out the shipping process without additional fees or is my best bet just to buy the product and perhaps negotiate a discount?

This is not really that big of a deal compared to
other posts out here and I‘m okay with a post
removal, but I would really appreciate if somebody could give me advice. Thanks.

Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 Unless you want to pay Shipping just keep it. That’s what the company said to do anyhow. You are clear. Answer #2: The site seems to belong to a company located in the UK.

From what I can tell, according to the Consumer Rights Act of 2015 you have the right to cancel the order (which you've done), and you have the right to return the item at their expense if you did not agree or was not informed that you would have to pay for the return when placing the order.

More info here: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-complain-if-your-parcel-is-late-or-doesnt-turn-upAnswer #3: What can they do if you don't send it back? You won't authorize a charge so they can't make you pay for it. And you don't want to pay to send it back. So they can either pay for shipping and get the game back, or they can get nothing.


Title: Potential Craigslist scam?

Question: I recently listed my couch on Craigslist for between $200 and $300. Someone texted me the next day saying they were interested and that they would send me a cashiers check in the mail and then send movers to pick up the couch once the check was cashed. He/she also requested that I take down the listing immediately. A couple days later they texted me saying that the check had been delivered (I had supplied my address and name) and included a tracking number which confirmed this. Upon opening the package I found a cashiers check written out to me for almost $1500 more than what we had agreed on. When I search the name and return address on the package I can't find anyone or anything. I was initially going to shred the check, but then I realized that I couldn't because its a cashiers check. Is there some sort of scheme going on here that I can't figure out? What does this person have to gain from this? I am worried that this is a ploy to give someone a legal claim against me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 Shred the check, find a new buyer.

Then end.

Check is no good, you deposit the money and return some to them or forward part to someone else.

Then a week later the money gets pulled back out of your account and you are out the 1500.


Title: My iPhone's screen broke so now I got a Google Pixel. I still have the old phone?

Question:
So I'm not sure what is going to happen because I am still under investigation.  Will they charge me for destruction of evidence? I never used imessager on it, only facebook and whatsapp.

Am I able to get the screen fixed and working again without any issues? What is going to happen to me?

Answer: You need to provide more context here. What investigation are you talking about?


Title: If I want to travel to The US again will I have trouble at The Airport?

Question:
About 5 years ago I was in America working for the summer as part of a J1 working visa. Near the end of the visa/Holiday I was coming home from a night out with my friends. Being young stupid and drunk I thought It would be a good Idea to run down the street with a parasol umbrella from a motel. I was seen and subsequently arrested by the law enforcement and spent the night in a cell because It was too late to ring the motel to see if they wanted to press charges.

So long story short the court date was set after my flight home to the Eu. Still being young and stupid I flew home and didn’t deal with the case. There is still a record online in the district court with the titles of misdemeanour and theft of less than 100 dollar.

I will probably want to return to The Us in the future and my fear is that this case will cone back to haunt me in the airport and I wont be allowed enter the country.

So I made this post to ask for advice in how I would go about getting the matter sorted from my country or If I would even need to worry about it if I try to enter the Us first
Topic:
Non-US

Answer: You need to contact the court where it happened and ask them how to straighten this out. Because yes, this could 100% impact your ability to enter the US.Answer #2: I am not a lawyer, but there is most likely a bench warrant for your arrest for not appearing in court. You definitely need to address this before attempting to return to the country.


Title: My mother mortgaged the house she didn't own, and my lawyer is trying to get me to hire more counsel. House in CT.

Question:
So . . . to start at the beginning:

* My dad died when I was 7
* He left me a substantial sum of money
* My mother got a hold of the money through probate court
* My mother used the money to buy a house with my name (and my sisters) on the title
* I moved out at 14 (went to live with grandparents due to issues with stepfather)
* At 25 I found out that my mother mortgaged the house when I was 17
* She did not sign for me, and may have backdated the documents (they conveniently line up with the LAST day I was 17)
* When I found out I hired a lawyer who took the case on an hourly basis with no percentage of the recovery
* My lawyer now wants me to hire a different law firm for 40 percent of the recovery, and I'm not clear why I need more than one lawyer

To sum up, my inheritance was stolen through an illegal mortgage, my lawyer seemed to recognize this and be trying to help me get it back, but he now wants me to hire an additional lawyer that costs a fortune. I'm really lost.

UPDATE: Tried to reach the lawyer and failed today. First I got to the secretary and was told he wasn't in yet. (9:42 AM). Tried again at 10:43 AM only to be told he wasn't there. Called at 2:14, he'd come in and left for the day. I wish everyone had a chance to work hours like that on a Friday. :)

Anyway, thank you everyone for the advice. I will call again as soon as possible on Monday, and I promise to update you! Your guidance has helped me feel like this isn't quite as scary. Thanks again.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 Let's back up a bit.  How much was the mortgage and what happened to that money?  Who has been paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance and property upkeep all these years?  From whose funds?  What is the current equity?  What is happening with that house now?  Do you live there, are you getting rent from someone else, etc?  Most important, does your mother have any assets to collect a judgment against?  By the way, what does she say about all this?

This are important details to evaluate how reasonable the 40 percent fee is.  How much can you afford to pay a lawyer now to litigate this case?


Title: Can I record a phone call without the other party knowing?

Question: I need to pay a debt collector and I’m paranoid they’ll charge my card and not give me any kind of written confirmation. I’m located in GA if that matters.

Answer: Georgia is a one party consent state, so you can record phone conversations. Having said that, you are better served paying the debt via certified funds after you have gotten the agreement with the debt collector in writing. Request they send you a verification of the amount due and an invoice. Pay that invoice with a Cashiers Check from your bank and send it via Certified Mail. Those extra steps provide a paper trail and prevent the debt collector from ever having your credit card or checking account information.


Title: I own a vintage watch business and was handcuffed, searched, and interrogated by 5 undercover police officers when I went to a coffee shop to show some watches to a potential client.(CA)

Question:
I have a business where I buy and sell vintage watches. I have a website, and also conduct business on ebay, watch forums, craigslist, and in person. I had a listing for two rolex watches and was emailed by someone who said they were interested in them and wanted to take a look at them at a local coffee shop. This is pretty common for me and I have met plenty of clients in this particular coffee shop because of it's safe and central location in the city(san francisco)

I'm sitting at a table and a person walks in and looks at me and asks if im "Name" and there to meet him to show some watches. I greet him and shake his hand and we sit down at the table. About a minute after sitting down and me him looking at the watches, 4 undercover police officers walk in real fast and surround the table. They inform me that they are police officers and immediately handcuff and search me. They say that someone had reported two rolex watches stolen from their home the previous week and that they believed my listing to match the description of the stolen watches and they suspected me of the crime. The acted like they were 100% certain it was me and they had just caught the criminal.

I knew the watches weren't stolen and could show exactly when and where I purchased them. I told them this, and also asked them what the description of the watches was and why they were so convinced that my watches were from the home theft the week before.

When they pulled out a printed piece of paper with the watch the descriptions, the stolen rolex watches were nothing like mine. They didn't have any pictures of the stolen watches, so they just had the owners description to go off of. One of the watches was a completely different model than mine and wasn't even made in the same decade. The other was the same model as mine but had white face and smooth bezel, while mine had a blue face and ridged bezel. The only thing that even remotely matched the description of the watch was that they had the same color strap. My listing also had clear pictures of model numbers, the year it was build, and partial serial #s(I blur the first couple numbers because its not a good idea to give out the full # to anyone)

They didn't even bother comparing the model or serial numbers provided by the owner, which would have taken 10 seconds and proven that these were not the stolen watches.

To me it seems like you would have to be completely negligent to set up someone in a coffee shop to be detained by 5 undercover cops in a coffee shop, without spending 5 seconds to compare the watches and basing the entire operation on nothing but a matching strap and watch brand.

They realized they were wrong and let me go and left after about 15 minutes. But the vintage Rolex business is pretty small, not to mention that everyone at a popular coffee shop I often do business in saw me get "busted" by 5 undercover officers.
This has damaged my reputation and hurt my business, simply because people would rather go to my competition than risk buying a stolen watch.
Is there anything I can do about this? I don't seem how the police can legally justify violating my 4th amendment right without any actual evidence. And 5 undercover cops seems pretty excessive and the whole thing was way overboard and would never had happened if they even just showed pictures of my listing to the owner of the stolen watches beforehand.

Is it a waste of time to try to hold them accountable for damage to my business and reputation due to their negligence, or should I just move on from this?

Answer: 5 undercover officers?  Looks like they have plenty of....time


Title: I was blackmailed into sending nudes as a minor to my stalker. The guy got mad at me for getting away when he tried to rape me and posted my nudes online last night under my name, with multiple pictures of my face.

Question:
When I was 17, I went out on Halloween with a guy who was ten years older than me. I was under the impression he was a lot younger, and I had just gone through a rough breakup where I got extremely hurt. He got me extremely drunk, and I don't remember the night but had apparently also ingested cocaine. The next day he told me I had done something pretty illegal that constitutes as felony vandalism in my state. I had no recollection of said event but the person who's property it was had already reached out to me threatening to prosecute. I was facing a year in jail if they could prove it.

He told me about a week after Halloween - after my parents dropped five grand on a lawyer - that if I did not have sex with him and/or send him nude pictures that he was going to forward to the police the screenshots of our conversation where he told me I had vandalized and I begged him to keep his mouth shut. I decided that sending this guy pictures would be preferable compared to having a felony and sitting in jail or being on probation. (I have textual evidence of him blackmailing me like this).

For months now he has convinced me that I had to see him. It's not often, but maybe once or twice a month he will tell me I have to so I'll go with him to get drinks. In turn he always hands me $100 and tells me there's more waiting if I come home with him. (Textual evidence of this as well). I always politely decline and try to push the hundred away but he insists. The other night I was dumb enough to get in his car, as my parents had taken mine (totally unrelated financial issue) and he told me I was obligated to go to his house now because I was paid and if I was on my period he was going to stick it in my ass. I freaked out and agreed to not upset him and had him pull to a gas station so I could use the restroom and grab water. I locked myself in the bathroom and called a trusted friend to come get me and 30 minutes later I was safe.

Last night, he used the photos he blackmailed me for in combination with photos of my face and posted them to Instagram under my name on a fake profile he made. He then followed every single one of my 1.5k followers on Instagram and my phone didn't stop going off until 5am. Everyone in my city has seen, screenshotted and re-sent multiple pictures of my nude 16/17 year old body.

I'm wondering if I can sue for damages. 80% of my coworkers know what happened as the account followed them and began messaging some of them saying "Please let me fuck you, my number is xxx-xxx-xxxx" pretending to be me. If my manager finds out I will definitely lose my job as I work at a nice place.

Hundreds and potentially thousands of people have seen me naked now. My pictures will never stop circulating the Internet. So many people have them. I'm completely ruined and have immediate plans to move out of the city. I'm scared he will do something worse to me as he does follow me somehow. He often sends me texts saying I look cute doing certain things or that my outfit is cute, etc. but every time I look around he is nowhere to be seen.

Also, Instagram left the posts and profile up for 24hours after tons of people reported in saying that there was CP on their app. I had gave a report specifying this less than an hour after the pics were posted and they didn't bother taking them down until about 10pm the following night.

I am just wondering what my options are, there's not much on the web for this exact kind of thing.

Edit: this is in FL

Answer: Have you considered going to the police?


Title: I (22M) filed my wife's (21F) and I joint taxes this year as both independent in January, her father now wants me to go back and change her to a dependent so he can claim her as a dependent. (Ohio)

Question: Even though my wife and I live together without any aide other then  a few hundred dollars, from both of our families every so often, because we are both full time students. Both of us work part time jobs to pay for  our rent, and she gets a military stipend to pay for the rest. We pay for any tuition cost of either of ours, and I depend on fasfa to help pay for mine, hence the reason why I filed us jointly independent. Neither of us know what we should do because he claims it will cost him thousands of he can't file her as a dependent, but I feel she is not and we could possibly lose our tax return and my fasfa scholarship if I change my taxes. Any help or thoughtful advice is extremely appreciated, thank you!

Answer: So tell him no. This is not a legal issue.Answer #2: If he isn't paying at least half of her support, then he's not entitled to claim her as a dependent. It's unlikely to cost him thousands (because of the changes to the tax laws in 2018, dependents aren't generally "worth" as much as they were in prior years), but it may cost him something. However, this is a relationship issue.


Title: Can I drive with an expired license if...

Question: I already sent in the renewal and can see the dmv debited my account on my bank account. I just haven’t received a copy of my new license yet. Will a cop be able to look that up?

Answer:
 You need to provide a valid license if you're pulled over by the police.  Just showing a debit from the DMV likely isn't enough.

The easiest way to prevent being cited for not having proper license is to either not drive or not drive in such a way that you would be pulled over and investigated by law enforcement.Answer #2: In my state you can print out a temporary license after you have renewed.  Check your state DMV site for your rules.


Title: Is this a good argument to present to the judge to decrease my child support?

Question:
“As stated in the divorce decree I already pay 50% of all child expenses such as child care, diapers, food and shelter when they are in my care every other day, and school expenses. If I pay the stated amount of child support I will be paying 100% of all child expenses as the amount would make up the difference I am not paying in the decree. I would ask to cut the amount of child support in half or less so that it is fair between both parties.”

Will the judge even care? The calculator shows that the requested amount is correct between both of our incomes but does not take into account what I’m already paying in child expenses. No c/s has been ordered yet. This is the state of Missouri.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Your custody agreement is 50/50 time?


Title: OK but is it illegal if you accidentally hack into a government server? I always wondered because it's illegal to do it on purpose but what if you don't mean to?

Answer: How can you accidentally hack into any server? Trying to gain access that you're not supposed to have is illegal no matter the target.Answer #2: Information security architect here, you don't accidentally hack into things. You have to take some positive action to "hack". It's nothing like in the movies.


Title: Girlfriend's landlord doesn't maintain parking lot, it's trashing my car

Question: I'm in Washington state. My girlfriend doesn't have a car, so I drive her everywhere in my miata. Her landlord doesn't maintain the parking lot, and the snow and ice has created a ice and slush minefield that keeps banging up the bottom of my car in a bad way, and when you stop before merging into traffic at the entrance, your tires sink into the slush and get you stuck. I've already gotten stuck once although luckily some guys were hanging around and pushed me out. I notified the landlords before this happened it needed to be fixed, I did again afterwords. Nothing has happened but lip service. My question is can I threaten or take legal action (small claims court?) If it's not fixed?  for a tow truck if I get stuck again but nobody's around to help, and for the damage that it's caused to the underside of my car.

Answer: Are you really asking if you can sue because your *Miata* is awful in snow?


Title: (PA) Can your employer legally refuse to give you a copy of any licenses or certifications if they are afraid you will use it to apply to other jobs?

Question: Mainly referring to working in assistive living (nursing homes) but I guess this could apply to any employer.  I recently acquired a med-tech certification and they gave me a hard time about receiving a copy because they were afraid I would take it and apply to jobs elsewhere.  I'm pretty sure I never signed any kind of contract to complete the training and the management at my facility keeps trying to refuse giving copies of licenses to employees but I don't think they can legally do this.

Answer:
 Why don't you just request your copy from the issuing body?Answer #2: I'm fairly sure they are yours.  You could ask the Dept of Labor: http://www.dli.pa.gov/Pages/Contact-Us.aspx

You could also ask whoever issued the licenses/certs to send you a copy directly.


Title: Suspicious person at U-Haul drop off. Should I report?

Question:
5:30PM Today. Indianapolis, IN

I went to drop off my truck  at U-Haul. A man in an SUV (non-UHaul) pulls in as I get out of the truck. I don't think nothing of it. I am reading the drop off instructions and he asks if they are closed. I say "Yep, missed 'em by 15 minutes". He then loiters. I look around for the key drop box. Still there. I find the key drop off and he is standing right next to it. So I stay within sight of the busy street and the cameras. He informs me I need to park it behind the building. "Do you work here?"

"That is none of your business, but you are supposed to drop it off there" he informs me as he points to the back lot.

"Pleae leave me alone. I am a big girl and can take care of myself". At this point I am flipping out inside. Why is he still here? Why is he in my business. Why is he following me around the lot and srill talking to me. Serious flipping out. I have schizoaffective disorder. I go into immediate manic mode. He walks toward me. I turn to him and scream "leave me alone!"

"God bless you, I am only trying to help."

"Leave me alone!"

"Go bless you child."

I whipped out my cellphone,thought I took a picture of his license plate, but failed to save it. He  got in his car and left.

I don't know what just happened. Part of me says he was trying to help and I just panicked. Another part says this guy was sizing me up to do who knows what.

I reported it to the U-Haul costumer service. Should I file a police report? Am I just over reacting? I need serious advice.

Answer: It's not illegal to talk to somebody even in a creepy way. Unless he threaten you, let it go. I don't see any crime here.