Title: There is a live band playing outside our house.

Question:
My parents have gone out there and pleaded for them to stop. Because australia school starts tomorrow and this band constantly playing is stopping our entire house from sleeping.

They, while I was standing with my parents, told us to fuck off.

We called the non-emergency line and they told us to call the real police. We called them and they don’t show up because obviously more important things are happening. Today the police showed up(the band comes every Friday and Sunday). The police didn’t do anything. They just stopped and spoke to us and then continued without speaking to the band.

The band doesn’t have a permit to play and they’re all high as a kite so it’s difficult to reason with them.

What are our options as the police aren’t doing anything and the band tells us to fuck off.

Answer:
 Are there any ordinances that prevent watering your lawn?

Your lawn looks a little dry. You should water it...Answer #2: I mean they are on a public street right? So you don't have to go around them, the whole street could walk through and in-between them while they play? You would be in your right to stand in the middle of them in nothing but pink Spandex, abusing a ukulele and singing a different song completely false there in that spot right? A location where you would be permitted to play your own shitty recording of you playing drums on pots and pans? A place where you could play Rebecca Black's song Friday on repeat for days?A place where you can drop those prank rotten egg bottles before they show up? Or where you can write creative band names in chalk on the street? Is that where they are standing?

Well it might be nice to know some of their names so you could press charges if they go over 10. Perhaps the police can help with that? So here is how police work: Your entire block should call the police every hour of every day and keep doing so until the police get so tired of it that they remove them.Answer #3: Contact the local political person for this area. (City councilor, alderman, etc..) Explain how often this is happening and how it disrupts life in the neighborhood. Tell them about the lack of police response. This is exactly the type of issue a local politician should be interested in.


Title: Joint custody questions: father and I have joint physical and legal custody but live 75 miles apart and it is not working though he does not want to change anything (Indiana)

Question:
We were never married but he asked me to sign an affidavit of paternity (I think?) and I awarded him joint physical and legal custody when I was served papers by the sheriff and went to court.  Honestly I did this when we had just broken up and it was a very controlling relationship and I didn't even know what I was signed or doing; I just followed his directions.  He told me it was the first step to making a mediation appointment.  It wasn't until a year later when I consulted a lawyer that I realized what had happened.  Not sure if that is relevant but I thought I'd include it.

My questions are about how to change things.  We do one week in his town and one week in my town.  I am single and work at the local university where she goes to preschool every other week.  He is remarried with two step-daughters.  There is absolutely no interaction between our families in anyway.  I can't even look him in the eye when we meet to exchange her on the weekends and try to talk to him as little as possible.  It's what I think the courts call "parallel parenting."

It's not working.  Just emotionally and financially, but also she will be in kindergarten in the fall and we need to register her.  He has said for the past year she is going to the school in his neighborhood.  I repeatedly have said I never agreed to that and he never consulted me.  I suggested other schools and he just says no way.  Her two step-sisters go to the school he wants, in his neighborhood.  I told him in an email that I am not in agreement to her going to that school and he has been silent ever since so I've assumed he just registered her anyway.  What happens if I register her for the school in my town/district and she's registered in two towns?

She is 5.  She tells me she wants to go to school with her step-sisters but I don't know if that's from her dad telling her to say that or her true wishes.

I moved here for a job as I was unemployed and staying at home with my daughter when she was 2-4.  I moved here over a year ago.  The court case is in his town from before I moved here.

My questions are about how the court determines custody.  I read that the court takes in consideration the "age and sex of the child."  What does that mean?  What are the implications?  Does her being female mean she is more likely to be awarded more parenting time with her mother?

I also read custody is determined by "the interaction and interrelationship of the child with the child's siblings."  Does that include step-siblings?  They were married about 6 months before I moved away.

The fight is between where she will go to school.  I'm not trying to take away time from him, but he is unreasonable and has made it almost impossible for me to make a living.  All I want to do is be able to take care of my daughter and survive.  He has tons more money and support; I have basically nothing.  Just a 38K year job and no family.  Will this inform the court's opinion?

There is no domestic violence whatsoever.  I am anticipating them claiming things about me as they have made up lies in the past as I think that his wife or he is a little delusional.  They call themselves the father and mother of the stepchildren and my daughter says she has two moms.  They have banned the use of "step" in their home even though I and the step-children's dad are very much involved in our children's lives.  (in addition, do I have any legal recourse to this issue?)

The wife cuts short and dyes my daughters hair.  I have asked them repeatedly for the last year to stop, my daughter has asked them to stop, and they ignore it all.  Can I legally get them to stop?  I and my daughter would like her to have long hair that I can braid.  I also think constant dye in a 5 yo's hair is not healthy.  They literally don't respond when I implore them to stop.

I have suffered from PPD and he has lots of angry emails from me.  Will my mental state be evidence in court?  Will my emails be evidence against me?  They are just me arguing with him saying he's being unfair, not taking responsibility etc.  I regret it obviously, but its a fact that those are out there from 2 years ago.

He's very good at minding his P's and Q's so I have no evidence against him besides some emails they sent to my daughter's preschool saying not to listen to me that I don't care about my daughter or anyone but myself.  The preschool director would support me, could she be called as a witness?

Forgive me if I'm not asking the right questions, I'm not sure where to start.  I don't want to go to court and lose my daughter.  If losing more time with her is a possibility I will quit my job and abandon my career and live in my friends basement to be with her.  But obviously I'd like to continue to be a contributing member of society and her mother at the same time.  I don't want to make the wrong move.

Answer: You really need a lawyer to look over your current custody agreement.  I’m concerned that there’s a chance it could play out badly for you if you tried to push it since it seems like you’re the one who moved away.  It’s gonna depend on exactly what your current agreement says.


Title: Am I breaking any laws by keeping my elderly parent's money in a bank account in my name?

Question:
Let me be clear. This is not a joint account.

I have a PoA for my mother. I take care of her and pay all her bills. She lives in a senior center but can do some basic things on her own like go to the store. She has a different checking account in her name and I transfer money into it so she can buy some stuff or get her hair done.

However, I cannot let her have access to all her money or she will spend it with reckless abandon. She will subscribe to every magazine, shop all night on Amazon, and donate money to any charity that speaks up to her.

I opened a separate checking account in my name (with my sibling's name on it as well) and moved all of my mom's money to it. About 50k. I don't plan on claiming this on taxes or as a gift because ... it's not my money. I don't spend it except on her bills or groceries or if we all go out to eat. Occasionally I'll buy some gas if I do a lot of errands for her.

I'd like to buy some bonds or CDs with her money so it grows a little but I want to make sure I'm not doing anything illegal going down this route.

Answer: You need to pursue conservatorship over her if you want to control her finances in that way. As it stands, you may have stolen from your mother. Power of Attorney allows you to act on her behalf, but it does not allow you to overrule her wishes or prevent her from doing what she wants. If she's mentally incompetent to make financial decisions, then she needs to be declared so by a court. Get a lawyer, and prepare for a long and arduous process.


Title: Access to Storage Unit, California

Question:
The manager at a storage facility where my family rents more than one large unit and have rented for several years, suddenly decided that they would not grant access to the building after 5:30pm, when the posted hours are 6pm.

When I incidentally mentioned this to a senior manager during a conversation about giving notice to move out of one of the units,  the second manager was shocked and said they'd look into it and resolve that.

All was fine for a short while, until the first manager found out that it was likely me who had spilled the beans and accidentally gotten her in trouble.

She retaliated by making false and alarming reports to the senior manager.

She has now locked the unit, forbidden my access to the unit after 4 pm, requires me to call in to make an appointment the day of my intent to access the unit, and when I have arrived after 2 with a rental vehicle and workers on the clock threatened to call the police if I am there a minute after 3:45pm.

Since I am a night owl, and work nights till midnight, my day effectively begins at 2pm.

They are aware that I am in the process of moving out, and using a rental truck and hired help on my days off to do so, yet are still forcibly blocking my access to the unit during normal business hours.

Can they legally change my access hours on a daily basis?

Can they change the access hours with no written notice ?

Can they deny access to the unit, reduce other services such as access to a restroom, prevent me from moving out, and still charge me full rent for use of the unit.

Can the police, who are available for a Civil Standby, override the problem manager's lockout and get me access to the unit

Can they charge me for a full additional months rent if their actions prevent my moving out.

Can I recoup additional expenses caused by the delays the manager's revenge tactics are causing: additional labor costs, days of truck rental.

Answer: Have you contacted the second manager again?  Appealed to the first manager's boss?  That is going to get you satisfaction a lot faster than a lawsuit.


Title: My father’s debt collector is taking 100% of his money from his bank.

Question: About 2 months ago, my father’s bank account was being drained by a debt collector after they won a settlement that he didn’t get served for, and had no idea that he had to go to court. So in the meantime he closed his account until he is able to figure out what’s happening. It is really hard to pay the bills with just cash. Can I add him onto my bank account, or will they still be able to drain the account? Is there any options he can take?

Answer:
 Don't add him to your bank account.  It then becomes his bank account and subject to being drained to pay his debts.

Your father needs to file a motion to vacate the judgement on the grounds he was not properly served.  Hopefully, he wasn't properly served, the settlement will be set aside, and he'll get to defend himself.


Title: If a police officer signs a contract while under cover, are they still liable for the contract?

Question:
This is a hypothetical, but I thought of the question and now I'm curious.

If a police officer signs a contract while under cover, would they be liable for what they signed? I realize they could possibly be using a fake name/ID or a real name/ID, depending on the type of operation (drugs vs vice).

Answer:
 > If a police officer signs a contract while under cover, are they still liable for the contract?

Yes.


Title: Neighbor threatening lawsuit(s)

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Let her sue, so she can but publicly humiliated in court when a judge laughs her out the room.  Then counter sue for time and expenses. Which you would probably win at that point.  Do it even if she just sues the cops.

she would of course have to do this pro-se since almost no attorney would take this up for fear of being laughed at too.  But if she has the money Im sure she can find someone who will take it.

OR say youll take it off for $10,000 dollars since that is what It will cost when she sues and loses.


Title: (NY) I'm receiving an inheritance, but the lawyer handling the trusts wants me to certify that I've received the money BEFORE they release the funds?

Question:
My grandmother passed away last year and a law firm is handling the distribution of funds from her assets, house, etc. I've already notarizied a handful of documents, but now, the time has come for distribution.

&#x200B;

Yesterday, I received a note from the attorney handling the trust requesting that I notarize a document that says, in short, that I "acknowledge the receipt of the sum... from the trustee." Basically, it wants me to confirm that I have received the money and all is well. A letter accompanying the document from the attorney asks me to have this receipt document notarized, and THEN, they will distribute the money.

&#x200B;

This... seems odd. Why would I confirm, along with a notary public, that I have received the money when I, in fact, have not? The letter from the attorney is short but also misspells my name and has other typos. Additionally, the receipt document itself is poorly worded and has typos.

&#x200B;

Should I be concerned about this, or is it standard practice to confirm that you have the distributions before you actually have them?

Answer: Sounds a bit suspicious to me. Have you spoken to the lawyer direct to confirm that they actually sent you the letter? Lawyers don't usually send letters with typos in them.Answer #2: This seems odd because it is.  Do not comply.Answer #3: I have done estate administration in 3 different law firms in Pennsylvania and this is exactly how we do it.  (We try to avoid the typos, though.)Answer #4: Don’t do it. Make sure that the money is cleared in your account before certifying anything. If they walk away with your money once you sign you have no legal recourse.


Title: OR Landlord wants BF and I (21) to sign form that we won't drink in our apartment

Question: So my boyfriend and I just moved into an apartment together, we live in Oregon. I'm 21 and like to have the occasional drink and I smoke weed, which is legal here. So long story short, our landlord gave us our lease and other forms to fill out and while we were doing that there was a form for us to sign stating that we would not drink alcohol there or do any drugs, which I'm assuming includes marajuana. (I realize I can't smoke inside the apartment which is fine, but we have a backyard where we smoke and we don't leave out any paraphernalia) We didn't sign it and sent the forms back without that page, we have already been living at the apartment for a couple weeks before being added to the lease because we were taking it over from my boyfriends mother, which the landlord is aware of. Anyways, we haven't heard anything back from our landlord about the specific page, we are assuming it was an optional thing, but if our landlord does make a fuss about it or states that we are required to sign it, whats our recourse? I find it hard to believe they could force us to sign it, but we are young and this is our first time living on our own and don't want to get fucked over. Any info helps! Thank you! And if I'm missing and information or you need clarification just let me know, its my first time posting here, I tried to google this but nothing came up, again, thank you!

Answer:
 Your landlord is probably not aware that page has been omitted.

However if the landlord finds out and asks you to sign it and you refuse he can still force you to move out, mostly likely within 30 days.


Title: My fiancé is getting arrested for attacking me. The detective on the case never suggested this, but can more charges be added if I have video or audio? We live in Birmingham, Alabama. I’m 30 and she is 34 years old. We are both females.

Question:
NOTICE: If it helps your answer, I have graphic audio files that I can message to you if requested, but please don’t ask if you’re uncomfortable hearing domestic violence situations. However, I would still appreciate your opinions even if you don't want the audio.

In the numerous audio/video files, she is either admitting to or actually in the process of raping me, hurting me, threatening me in numerous ways (up to murder), etc.

HERE IS MY QUESTION: I want to know if my ex can be charged with additional crimes because after everything I was put through, one charge honestly doesn’t feel justified to me. I’m in therapy for the emotional damage she caused and it’s going to take me YEARS to get over everything... 😭

If it’s possible for charges to be filed based on the audio/video files, what should I do to make that happen, and if it’s not possible, why not? The detective never said anything about more charges when I discussed the files. Thank you for any input. 😔

This is a pic of the police report for the current charges: https://ibb.co/bNosJy

Message me for an AUDIO FILE of one of the many unlisted/private Youtube ‘videos’ of attempted rape/sodomy with a foreign object. It’s NOTHING compared to the numerous other videos I have, but it will give you some context.

P.S. Someone recently accused me of being the abuser since I “had the foresight to record her”, which is an utterly ridiculous and hurtful accusation. I’m broke/disabled with nowhere to go and I started recording months before, which was adviced by my therapist and support group. After attacking ME (while I was STILL on the floor uncontrollably and hysterically crying), she tried to make it look like I had attacked her “in case the police were called”. Everyone said I should start recording to protect myself, which ended up being good advice.

We live in Birmingham, Alabama.

Answer:
 Before reading the rest of your post

>If it helps your answer, I have graphic audio files that I can message to you if requested

DON'T send images, videos or audio files to random people on the internet


Title: Is neglecting to mentioned a vasectomy to a pregnant, cheat girlfriend until 25 weeks into gestation make me responsible for child support?

Question:
He, /r/LegalAdvice. If you'll look closely, you'll notice that this is a throwaway account. I'm from Texas and this is not at all my situation or the situation of anyone I know, but I want to be knowledgeable about the legal ramifications of such actions because the nuances of family court doctrine seem stochastic to me and I'm having a hard time grasping them, I don't want to take a hit on my finals because I didn't get a few questions answered anyway I could.

I tried to abridge my post's title and not make it too long, but what is to follow is the full questions I wish answered:

Let say I were to get a perfect vasectomy and never told anybody, including my SO. Then one day she announces that she is pregnant (the only possible reasons being she cheated unsafely or Gabriel once again bestowed the second coming on a pair of non-believers) and that it is obvious that I am the father as I am her significant other, to whom she is supposed faithful.

If I were to humour her thinking I was the father until she was legally unable to abort (which I believe is 24 weeks) and before the baby was born, would I be financially responsible for the child?

Let's say "humouring" is me being as giddy and accepting of the child, public and private, for the few weeks that I would realistically be aware of it's conception as any wannabe father would.

The motive of such an act on my hypothetical part would be to use the tool of another's betrayal to betray them with the sole responsibility of their treacherous actions.

Let's say she secretly stopped taking her birth control (which I know has legal ramifications but it's so hard to prove I wont humour pursuing that) and wasn't getting pregnant, so she cheated with the first man she thought she could get away with. Upon realizing pregnancy, she announces to me and everyone that "we're" pregnant. I pretend to be overjoyed and after she is unable to abort, I tell her that it slipped my mind that I had a vasectomy, show her copies of the paperwork detailing evidence of the procedure and negative sperm sample. Then walk out of her life.

I couldn't easily find an answer to this lurid question online, but I was wondering whether I would be trapped into fatherhood anyway because by "humouring" "our" child, I was afraid of some never-before heard commonlaw fatherhood edict.

[Keep in mind we are not married in this scenario]

Main questions: -Would I be responsible for the baby for calling it my baby, BEFORE it was born, then renouncing it after I accepted it all BEFORE it was born?
-Could she sue me for lying to her like I could sue her for poking a hole in a condom we use, if I weren't sterile and she was actually pregnant with my baby?

-Do any of you guys have any more sentiments that I'm neglecting to consider?

Thanks.

Answer:
 Vasectomies aren't 100% effective. Answer #2: >-Do any of you guys have any more sentiments that I'm neglecting to consider?

It's my legal opinion that taking this course of action would make you a reprehensible human being, and you'd deserve whatever negative externalities come from this set of events.

I think the legal term of art that describes you is "festering pile of shit," which is unfortunately not actionable.Answer #3: There are many errors in your post. Vasectomies are not 100% effective. In the US there are no legal ramifications for stopping birth control - though in Canada you can get in trouble for poking holes in condoms.  To be clear: you cannot sue her if a girl pokes a hole in the condom you are using, or lies about being on the pill, or lies about having had her tubes tied.

Knock off the "lets say" and "hypothetically" crap.  Basically if you are married in most states you are the presumptive father. If you aren't you can either acknowledge paternity and go on the birth certificate or not. In your case, you would insist upon a test because of having been snipped.


Title: High School won't let me drop out even though I'm 18?

Question:
I live in New Jersey and school just ended today and I realized how miserable and depressed I was throughout the schoolyear so I decided to drop out and pursue a GED instead. As I went to the main office to tell them they gave me a transfer form and said I have to get my parents signature to get my GED. I don't understand why I need to when I'm 18. I'm thinking about just forging the signature and giving it to them or simply not attending school anymore. How do I override this nonsense? I feel like this is absolutely unfair on my part being how unhappy I was with school and needing to be on my own rather than everyone trying to control me which is leaving me in a state of misery right now. How can I overcome this?

Btw I am also planning on moving out of my parents house in the summer with a friend and I also have a job.

Answer:
 Finish high school. If you are unhappy at your school find a different program. Dropping out because you are unhappy, and frankly sound like a grouchy teenager, will be a horrible decision that you can't take back. Answer #2: You should finish school properly.

Despite its name and typically harder requirements,  a GED will not be seen by employers as equivalent to a HS Diploma
Answer #3: Ok, expecting all the downvotes for this, but:

At eighteen you are legally an adult, and can make your own education decisions. I cannot find anything in NJ law specifically stating the dropout decision falls outside of this domain. It's not unlikely that the admins are doing this to force you to think about this choice and to cover themselves in case your parents come back regarding this (Caveat, there are special education circumstances that extend that compulsory education range and that stuff is super state specific and outside my expertise).

**THAT SAID**: It's high school. Everyone hates high school. You're not there to love it. You're there to get the basic minimum education the state has said you need to attempt adulting. IMO if you won't even have this conversation with your parents I don't think you're ready to make this decision.

Anecdotally, 80-90% of the folks that left and got GEDs when I finished HS are either still jobless (after a couple decades) or had a storied career wearing paper hats and asking people if they would like fries. I'm not (well trying not to be) judging either of these particularly, I'm saying that the options seemed to become far more limited based on dropping out, and those individuals may regret their decision.

You're eighteen. It's not going to be forever. Finish school. As an educator, I'm asking you. Pretty please.


Title: Does child custody work this way?

Question:
Hi All,

&#x200B;

Throwaway for obvious reasons.  I was wondering if the general concept of custody worked the way I seem to think it does, or if I am setting myself up for a losing battle.

My wife has a 10 year old son from a previous marriage that we both primarily raise here in San Diego.  It is relevant to the story that her ex-husband is 83 years old.  He contributes financial resources but does not have a particularly close relationship to his son, seeing him about once a month or so.  Ex-husband is a fairly passive person to the point where over the last 10 years he has not really developed any capacity to take care of his son for more than a few hours at a time.

We have been getting by over the last few years with a joint custody agreement.  There were no lawyers involved in the original agreement.  Ex-husband sees son about once a month and pays child support.  However, my wife and I are ready for some major life changes that will shake up the apple cart.  I am currently applying for a graduate school program in Finland and will almost certainly be accepted, possibly with a scholarship.  My wife and I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to move to Finland, as this has been a dream of ours for several years.

We are currently engaged in a discussion with her ex-husband as we would need permission from the ex-husband to bring our 10 year old with us.  His nominal position as the beginning of these discussions is that he will not give this permission, at which point we would have to go to court.

My expectation is that we have a pretty good chance of winning in court.  Notwithstanding the fact that my wife and I constitute our son's main emotional support, we have another baby coming in January and our son is very much looking forward to being a big brother.  I understand that it is unfortunate that we are looking to move away from his biological father, but this strikes me as a no-brainer from the perspective of "what is best for the child."  If he were to stay here with his father, most likely he would end up actually staying with his grandparents as his father doesn't really know what to do with him.

I understand that every custody case is different and that ultimately it is up to the judge, but am I missing any important angle here that makes this a dangerous path?  We are not particularly interested in moving forward with our plans without our son joining us.

&#x200B;

Thanks!

Answer:
 You are proposing, essentially, removing the child from the father, outside of the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts, practically forever.  Given the age of the father, it is very likely that this move would result in the child never seeing his father again.  That proposition is far from a "no-brainer", nor be considered in the best interest of the child.

The courts would also take a negative view on the position that the mother presents two options:  The child stays with the father, or the child leaves the country with the mother, without consideration that the mother remains in the country with her child, and allows her husband to go to Finland without her.

The mother should speak to a family law attorney to assess the feasibility of this.Answer #2: This is not going to be a "no-brainer." The advanced age of the biological father means he could very well die while you're in Finland. While they may not have a close relationship, moving across the world will likely rob this child of ever having a chance to have a relationship with his father. The court is going to take that into consideration. You should too. Answer #3: OP- You and your wife need a family law attorney. Custody scenarios are very fact-specific and require the expertise of a lawyer who knows exactly what questions to answer. Issues of custody are rarely 'slam dunks' or cut and dry.Answer #4: Does the child has a passport?  If not, it will require the bio dad to sign off on it.

I wouldn’t say it is a lock for you to get 100% custody just because you are the “emotional support” and that the child allegedly is looking forward to another baby.

You need a lawyer.


Title: How is being sued fair to poor people when they cannot afford an attorney?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It doesn't have to be fair.  Our justice system does not guarantee fairness in all situations.  It does guarantee due process, which does not include a free lawyer in civil cases.

It would be a violation of equal protection to allow "poor people" a free pass if they breach contracts or commit torts.Answer #2: So what are you being sued for?


Title: [MA] Multiple family members being harassed

Question:
My son is in the midst of a custody battle/divorce.  His soon to be ex recently lost custody due to pervasive drug abuse, and she has taken to texting/email/fb *everyone* in my household nonstop since the judge ruled against her.

She texts me, my wife, our son, our son's girlfriend, and anyone else related and harps on and on about what a terrible family we are, etc.

Three phone number changes later, she somehow finds the new number and this drama starts again.

Would the judge who settled the custody be best notified?  The police?  Can someone using their FB for this be suspended?

I just want the insanity to stop.

Answer:
 You can make a complaint with Facebook and they'll probably suspend her.

Block her on all formats. Don't respond even if she does find an unblocked number. No need to feed into her crazy.

You can call the police and report her for harassment. Unfortunately they probably can't help much at this point. They might stop by her house and ask her not to be crazy but a restraining order is unlikely.

Document everything, if you end up in court again her actions will not speak well of her.


Title: AZ - I just ate half of a raw buffalo wing from Pizza Hut. What should I do if I get sick?

Question: The manager I reported it to was really cool though so I don't want to snitch out the restaurant location. Unless I get sick, of course.

Answer:
 Hopefully you shit your pants.

Aside from a free set of wings, keep being paranoid, friend.


Title: [PA] Employer bans water bottles at registers, which we aren't allowed to leave

Question:
I work at a regional retail chain in Pennsylvania. Our employer has banned water bottles at registers, and employees can be written up for it. We do have a water fountain in the store, but we're generally not allowed to leave our registers, and even if we were it isn't really feasible to be walking back and forth all the time especially when it's busy. We also get breaks skipped on a regular basis so this can mean we're expected to go up to 8 hours without access to water. Is this legal?

I found this on OSHA's website:

*OSHA Standards require an employer to provide potable water in the workplace and permit employees to drink it. Potable water includes tap water that is safe for drinking. Employers cannot require employees to pay for water that is provided. An employer does not have to provide bottled water if potable water is available. See OSHA's Sanitation standard for more information.* [Source](https://www.osha.gov/OSHA_FAQs.html#!drinkingwater)

...But since they're not legally required to provide water bottles, I'm not sure if they're violating anything.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Ask your employer how you are to obtain potable water while working. It may be that they just want you to take a bathroom break, which is reasonable - you can drink at the fountain, or in the break room. It may also be that they're unaware of their obligation. Don't press it; if the answer is "you're not," thank them for their time and go back to your shift, and file an OSHA complaint after work.

If you're fired in retaliation for filing an OSHA complaint, talk to OSHA about your next steps.


Title: Can a restaurant owner kick out a customer for coughing excessively?

Question: This is in regards to a Florida Denny's owner

Answer:
 Yes. It's a private business, that may ask a customer to leave for pretty much any reason short of a protected class, (race, religion, sex, disability).

Especially right now,  excessive coughing SHOULD result in being asked to leave. Better yet,  don't go in places if you're suffering from coughing fits.


Title: I had my coffee shop stolen from under me. I'm devastated.

Question:
Around a year and a half ago, I was managing a franchised coffee shop. The father of the family my (at the time) girlfriend was nannying for, ended up approaching me to open a cafe with him.

The idea was that I'd design, create, name, et cetera a coffee shop. While he would fund it and manage business aspects of it.

And so I did, I came up with the brand name (something fairly close to my heart), I co-designed the logo with the aforementioned (now former) girlfriend. I designed the menu, I did almost all of the interior design myself, with my own hands. All in all I had worked roughly 2000 hours for free, over 14 or so months.

Our shop opened in November. Sales growth was healthy, nothing but 5 star reviews flooded our google and yelp accounts. Our instagram flourished. I managed and worked at the shop, with the staff being composed of people who followed me from the old coffee shop I had been managing. I took an hourly wage, accepting no compensation for any work I put in prior to opening day, due to verbal promises of sweat equity or other compensation, once we reached profitability. His argument was that if I took equity, the landlord would force me to be placed on the lease for the shop.

Yesterday, the shop closed at 6 like it always does. At 9pm, 4 of the employees under me, some of my best friends, (not myself, or my niece who had been working at the shop part time) were sent a text essentially saying we were all fired, and that a new company had taken over and brought their own staff. And they would be opening and operating the shop as of 5:30 am the following morning.

We all run to the shop as fast as possible, we're barred from collecting all of the furniture and other things that had been LOANED to us from friends and family. We were barred from collecting our tools, and other things that had been lent and never compensated for by my business partner, and financial backer.

As it stands, he owes two family members of mine over $1000 in unpaid wages for labor they put in helping he and I do drywall and other manual labor tasks throughout the shop. The new company has over $1000 worth of our items in the shop and both they and the police refuse to give them back to us.

The thing I'm overwhelmingly concerned with, however, is the brand name. That name and logo meant the world to me. What I want to know, is if I have any case against him (For selling it when he technically doesn't own it) or the shop (For using it).

He registered the business under a similar name (but not identical) to the shops name. Ergo it was ___ coffee llc and not ____ and ___ (the name of the shop). Also as far as I'm aware, there's currently no trademark on either the logo or the name.

Is there any case I've got here? I am sure I'm screwed on the year of my life I put into the shop before we opened, under his false promises. I just want my brand, so I can open a new cafe and not watch other people profit off of my creations when I received absolutely nothing.

Answer:
 Unfortunately, this issue is too complicated for a simple forum like this.  You need a business law attorney to evaluate your case.  You should probably prepare yourself for an expensive litigation.Answer #2: What, if anything, do you have in writing about this business arrangement?Answer #3: I'm unsure of the answer to your question (although I'm guessing that you are out of luck on the trademark because after a year it has likely attached to the goodwill of the business, and since you were paid an hourly wage the copyright is likely a "work for hire," meaning that it belongs to the employer), but for anyone who is reading, this entire fact pattern is a prime example of why Rule Number One is always this: If it isn't in writing, it didn't happen.

Also:

>His argument was that if I took equity, the landlord would force me to be placed on the lease for the shop.

This is very likely bullshit, and what does it matter anyway? If you're a partner, you're a partner. You went into "business" with a bad dude.Answer #4: What state, country?  Was everyone paid hourly wages earned up to the terminations?


Title: [CA] Just got a new car. I would like to get my license ASAP, but I have a warrant.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >And I know it's stupid, but I know how to drive quite well because I often drive cars unlicensed.

*Sigh*

>I understand these are borderline legal questions, so to speak

Dude, you have a warrant. These aren't borderline questions.

Take care of your warrant. Ask mommy and daddy - or whoever gave you a car for Christmas to help your fix your boo-boos and get a drivers license.

 I'm willing to bet that your permit has a lot of restrictions and is probably expired by now. You need to clear the warrant and your issue before you go try to get a driver's license "as fast as possible"


Title: ALLENTOWN PA TLDR: Grandma fell hard at my employer's store. She decided to sue. Today the bosses found out she is my grandma.

Question:
My grandmother came to my job to surprise me at work. It became a hell of surprise when she turned and tripped on cardboard box and her face collided with wooded display edge. The moment it happened I shouted " grandma!" Everyone in the store was aware that someone fell. I went To tend to my grandma with the little supplies we have at the moment. The bosses that were there did nothing. Didn't even attempt to get her ice for her face. I did my best but seeing her fall face first that hard shocked me. My aunt and grandma came by to shop and say hi. At the end when we left the boss didn't help or check to see if she was ok. He even went to charge her full price on the things she was buying. So now they're suing the store probably over the medical bill since grandma went to the hospital. She's by no means in critical condition but she's in her 70s.
Ive been working here everyday the store is open for 6 years. I've been loyal. My job didn't stay loyal to my family. Just treated them as poorly as they would anyone else. Do I need a lawyer? Can I be let go indiscriminately? I depend on this job to eat. If I'm let go because of this a few months later or my hours become reduced. This is a messy situation since I'm on my grandma's side. Yet I have to work to pay for my expenses. Do I need To speak with a lawyer?

Answer:
 Is your grandmother OK now?

Do you know if your grandmother asked the company to pay for her hospital bills before filing a lawsuit? Just curious. Presumably the business's insurance will handle this, but their rates will probably go up as well.

Generally speaking any at-will employee can be "indiscriminately" fired. Can't think of a reason you couldn't specifically be fired for the lawsuit; that would be unfair but I can't think of a reason it wouldn't be illegal. There wouldn't be a public policy exemption here, nor implied contract issue, not (probably) implied covenant of good faith issue. You can absolutely speak with an attorney but if you are fired over you should file for unemployment and appeal if denied.Answer #2: You could be fired because your grandma filed a lawsuit if that's your question.


Title: Neighbor leashed our dog and got pulled over -- should we be worried?

Question:
Our larger (50-60lb) dog got through the gate on our fence after it wasn't latched all the way and wandered around our next door neighbor's yard.  Neighbor saw our dog, found our phone numbers on her collar and called me to pick her up.

When I approached neighbor's house, I noticed the neighbor had leashed our dog (which I thought was unusual, we were right next door) and when dog saw me she made a beeline straight to me, dramatically pulling over our neighbor on her driveway who wasn't expecting it at all and fell and rolled to the ground. (Never handled a bigger dog before??)  Her hand was scraped up a bit and I apologised and helped her back up and thanked her profusely for returning our dog, but she said she was fine and that was that.

Now I'm wondering if she's going to sue, because it's America after all.  Is there any merit to this when she voluntarily leashed our dog but wasn't prepared to handle her at all or would it be owner negligence for her getting out of the fenced area?  Granted we are going to send her flowers and chocolates tomorrow and thank you for returning our dog but this is just a very odd situation.

Answer:
 If she just scraped up her hand, she has no damages over which to sue.

> we are going to send her flowers and chocolates tomorrow and thank you for returning our dog

Please do that. She sounds like a nice neighbor.


Title: How do you base economic damages in filing a federal tort clam against the VA, that resulted in partial permanent eye blindness?

Question:
After waking from my first dose cornea ulcer covering 95&#37; of my pupil. \(stopped using prednisone after one drop resulted in a film over my eye\) \-2 days later, went to ER, prescribed intensive medication.' \-x\-boyfriend hat to quit his job to administer drops in my eyes every 15 minutes \(to include through the night\) medication would prevent us from sleeping more than 15 minutes at a time due to severity of infection. for months \-VA refused to provide meds from specialists \(cornea, retina, optha cost to me \($50 for 2 day supply, took meds for months\) \-Scar to deep for laser, unable to wear the special contacts. \(I am 20/200 in infected eye\) not a candidate for transplant. \-2014 Med retired Army \(severe PTSD w disassociation, OCD, Bi\-polar II, severe: anxiety, depressive disorder at 100&#37; Total and Perm thru VA with homebound status.\\

\-offering no mental health, cognitive, visual, speech therapy even though recommended and I am eligible \(requesting for a year and a half, patient advocacy involved months ago\)\-neuro testing isolated impair in visual memory, \(this partial blindness heightened all of my senses\)

Congressional investigation in process, as well as written letters from the cornea, retina, and ophthalmologist that treated the severe infection made worse by the VA missing the scratch on my eye that allowed a bacteria in and prescribed steroid drops causing near instant blindness \(pseudomonas, cornea eating antibiotic resistant\)

Given a need for:

An adaptive vehicle, service dog, occupational therapy, specialty therapy to treat my complex mental health diagnosis affecting my life, for likely the duration of my life. I am unable to take mood stabilizers for my bi\-polar disorder, they make me severely depressed and I gained 100 pounds my weight was 230 at one point, after going blind in one eye and severe anxiety would cause me to lose the 100 pounds in one year due to extreme anxiety, or maybe I was in a “dissociative” state. Medication to treat my severe depression has caused me to have a manic episode that resulted in 2 hospitalizations. I am only taking one medication and I do find some relief from cannabis \(not legally\) Therapy is my only option. Looking at the price tag associated with therapies that was recommended by a neuro psych and the duration of such \(recommended Nov, have not received any via VA\) My only option is to use private insurance. I believe I have just cause to file a tort claim. However how could I assess my economic damages when after 8 years of onset of PTSD my ratings have increases and my condition is getting worse. My question is how can you access economic damages when I left the military with high marks and only received a 70&#37; rating for mental health \(I was required three waivers signed by a one\-star to justify why one E5 with 8 years could justify taking the BN level positions of 3 E7 positions\) Less than 5 years later I am rated at the highest rating, permanent and total, partial vision loss and no therapies provided and I am finding my mental health deteriorating. I now have a learning disability and do not know strategies to overcome and have not been given adaptive equipment that has been approved for months. Does anyone have any suggestions? My apologies for my writing, I was at one time effective in conveying my point via text. Once my mental health deteriorated and blindness so did everything else.

Answer: Don't bother trying to assess damages like this. All you need to do right now is speak to a medical malpractice attorney who specializes in Veterans Affairs.


Title: My new construction home's hardwoods warped/cupped severely immediately after installation, and the builder is refusing to fix the issue.

Question:
I'm in North Carolina and in need of help. More or less I want to understand if I have a prayer in holding the builder accountable for what is clearly a terrible outcome with my hardwoods.

Quick contractual facts:

-My contract includes binding arbitration

-Various implied and expressed warranties are disclaimed, pushing warranty to the defined builders warranty.

Pictures of the floors - http://imgur.com/a/1kbzp

I purchased a new construction home at the end of March 2015, and have dealt with the builder on this matter since that time. In short, the builder has clearly installed a defective hardwood floor in my home, but has officially disclaimed any responsibility for its condition, and now outright refuses to correct the issue – citing that relative humidity is the cause, and that they can’t control the weather... As depicted in the attached photos, excessive warping, cupping, & buckling covers the entire 1st floor of my house to an extent that is beyond reasonable. It is also worth noting, that this is not a problem unique to my home, as there are at least 3 other surrounding houses experiencing comparable flooring issues - all of which were built by the builder, within months of one another.

-------------------------------------------
The builder has asserted that it does not feel responsible for the condition of my floor, despite that:

•	The extensive floor damage was discovered & reported to the builder in very close proximity to construction & closing on the house. Photos show that subtle cupping went unnoticed at move-in, with excessive/aggressive warping, cupping, & buckling becoming apparent in the following weeks. This issue was reported to the builder in Aug 2016, after returning home from vacation to find a noticeable warping in all 1st floor rooms.

•	No testing or measuring was performed by the builder to identify the true cause of the problem upon it's discovery.

•	The initial damage was so undeniably intense that the builder actually agreed to refinish it. In April 2016, the builder supervised the floor refinishing. HOWEVER, the same severe warping/cupping/buckling returned immediately after the refinishing took place! My home now looks just as it did before refinishing. The immediate reemergence supports that the cause of the warping was not properly identified or addressed.

•	No testing or measuring was performed by The builder to identify the true trigger for causation when the 2nd warping episode was discovered in June/July 2016...

•	The builder installed fans in my crawl space immediately after the 2nd warping episode, out of concern for high moisture levels due to potentially insufficient crawl space venting. I only have vents on 2.5 sides of my home, which may be impeding cross ventilation.

•	The builder tested the moisture content of the subfloor and hardwoods in October 2016, 3 months after the 2nd warping episode, and after the weather/humidity changed dramatically – still to find that I had a 10% moisture differential in my subfloor and hardwoods. Installers recommend no more than a 4% difference. My subfloor is at 16% in October, which is dangerously close to a level that can enable mold damage.

•	The builder construction supervisor, offered several different theories attributing workmanship/product defect as causation for the damage, ranging from:

    o	Excessive moisture related to a documented water intrusion event in my crawl space (extensive standing water was found after closing, but no source/cause was ever officially identified)
     o	Insufficient flooring expansion gaps
     o	Excessive moisture in my crawl space due to inadequate cross ventilation (my home only has vents on 2.5 exterior walls)
     o	Paper backed insulation trapping moisture in my subfloor
     o	A defective lot of hardwood, responding excessive to humidity or temperature. (My floor does respond quickly to hot/cold changes...)
     o	Improper acclimatization at the time of installation
     o	Untreated moisture imbalance between the subfloor and hardwoods

-------------------------------------------
Despite the aforementioned events, and despite my persistent requests for an inspection & correction of the floor after the damage reappeared a 2nd time, the builder has explicitly refused to take any further corrective action.

The builder is now citing that ordinary, everyday, humidity is the sole cause of my floor's problem - and that because the builder cannot control the weather, the builder cannot be at fault... It was even recently suggested by the manager of Construction Operations, that my floor's swelling/cupping/buckling was actually normal, and that "I was noticing the problem because I keep my house clean..." Absurd and patronizing. My floor is far from normal. Even if the warping is a response to humidity, that does not explain why my floor has responded excessively and unreasonably to common humidity - TWICE! The builder is also conveniently ignoring that improper manufacture/installation can propagate an extreme change in hardwoods when they are inevitably exposed to normal humidity levels. Weather by itself is not the problem.

-----------------------------------------
My main questions:
-Can the builder be held liable for this?
-With this being a rampant common issue in my neighborhood, could arb be circumvented for a class action of some kind?
-Does my case sound winnable, or am I likely just screwed?

Thanks for reading, and for your input!

Answer:
 *UPDATE*

I emailed the CEO, CFO, and media relations of the builder's parent company, and as of this morning the builder has said they want to send out a different company to test my floors. Not sure what they are testing for yet, but it sounds like their outright refusal to fix the floor isn't a done deal, yet.


Title: [VT / VA] Suing a former "therapeudic" boarding school

Question:
Born in VT (lived there at the time), live in NY now, and the school is in VA.

When I was 14 (8 years ago, 2009) I was sent to a therapeudic boarding school for "trust issues". I was locked up there for 2 years, with only 30 other same-sex students and a lot of condescending staff / staff with a façade personality. I spent these 2 years essentially self-learning to hide my emotions and to not attempt interactions in any form so as to avoid any possibility of having to stay more years, as well as to avoid staff there. There's a lot of other things I'd rather not go over about that place, but you can google and find probably a few cases similar to mine. Upon being released, the difference between before and after for both emotional and social interactions has a sharp difference in my memory. I was much more impulsive/reactive/emotional in middle school, and afterwards I barely smiled/cried/anything. In the years since I have been in automobile accidents (as a driver and passenger), been on fire, and gone through a few attempted relationships/breakups. The thing that relates all of these is that in all of these events I had almost no outputtable emotion regardless of what was happening. I never cried, screamed, or showed anger. The fire is used as an example because it seems like a case where even some form of voice use would be expected, but I didn't even open my mouth (as well as being something recent and on my mind).

My emotional isolation began with the school and the social isolation began coming out of it. The social isolation is a key component of my depression; It has cost me jobs (inability to produce volume of work), therapy expenses (depression, emotional dissociation), as well as at the time set me grades behind where I was academically. Since the school isn't inspected, there were cases where I would be "learning" (we had to teach ourselves) from 3rd/4th grade textbooks in the 9th/10th grade (despite already being above my grade going into the school).

What I'm asking here isn't really what legal action to take, but what kind of lawyer should I even speak to for something in this area? There are numerous cases similar to mine where kids were abused, uneducated, and other punishments which wouldn't fly in a public school (isolation, unnecessary physical restraints/bullying). Not to mention the constant psychological impact (e.g. you had to earn "points" and "levels" which gave you miniscule permissions to things like using the bathroom yourself and could be revoked back to level 1 for simple things, like being awake too late, after months of work).

Answer: You can talking to any civil attorney. Your local bar association offers referrals


Title: Contractor told me he was licensed, is not. (Florida)

Question:
I hired a guy on a recommendation from someone.  The first question I asked was if he was licensed he said yes.  He starts work 2 weeks later,  works two days asks for half the money (he did half the work).  I paid him.  He has now rescheduled 10 times no showed numerous times.  Gotten belligerent with me when asking if he was going to fix the rotted wood and also when he planned on coming back.

I finally searched and discovered he has no license and I want no part of him anymore due to license and issues stated above.

He has not cashed the check.  Can I cancel it?  I had another contractor come and he said the work he did is sub par and did not address the real issue (rotted wood).

Can he take me to court if I cancel the check?  He misrepresented himself and did shotty work.  I signed no contract with him but I have nothing in writing of him stating he is licensed,  he told me verbally.

This is in pinellas County FL

Answer: Stop payment on the check. [Contracts with unlicensed contractors are unenforceable](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-0499/0489/Sections/0489.128.html).


Title: I found a flyer pasted (with adhesive) on my front door (it did not look pasted very strongly that would’ve made me feel that I should be careful about taking it off, it had a tape on the top as well) when I took the flyer off, it peeled the paint off of my front door. What are my legal remedies?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Your only real legal remedy is to get some touch-up paint and fix your door.

Any legal action would almost assuredly be prohibitively expensive.


Title: Can I get fired or arrested for this?

Question: I work at a gym and had someone who fell asleep in the gym. I woke him up and he took a shower. He took a while so I forced him out. Can I get in trouble for this?

Answer: How did you force him out?


Title: Getting sued for using an image another site used without permission

Question:
Location: Germany

I have a small scraping site that collects data from a shop and presents it in a way that benefits users (similar to CamelCamelCamel). No sales are done on my site.

For this site I also use small scale, cropped pictures for easier recognition. These are obtained automatically from the original product page. I can’t be expected to check all the images manually.

Now it so happens that I scraped a picture that the original store doesn’t have permission to use. The copyright owner contacted me and asks me to pay or wants to drag me to court.

Am I in the right because scaled it down to thumbnail size (400x400)? My site basically functions as a search engine and I know google previously was cleared of being responsible for their thumbnails. What defines a search engine?

Thank you for any help!
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 Given that you’re scraping images and republishing them, this could happen over and over again.

Do you have permission to use any of the images on your site?


Title: Landlord is asking me to pay last months rent when I prepaid it. (Kansas)

Question:
This is for the State of Kansas. Forgive the wall of text.  I want to present a reasonably complete picture of the situation.

My lease expires at the end of July.  I gave my landlord notice of our intent to not review our lease at the end of the current term.  I did so at the beginning of June.

When I moved in 2 years ago I paid the following.
1. First months rent
2. Last months rent
3. Security deposit (equal to 1 months rent)
4. Key deposit. ($50)

My lease states "Tenant shall pay first month's rent, last month's rent, key deposit, and a security deposit upon execution of this agreement."

First off, I learned after signing and moving in that according to state law my landlord is not allowed to collect more than 1 months rent equivalent.  At least this is my understanding after looking at housing laws in Kansas.  I moved from a different state where it was not uncommon to ask for last months rent in advance and I was in a rush with this move so I didn't think twice about it. By the time I learned about the law I was moved in already and he had cashed the checks and I didn't see any way to reasonably deal with it at that point.  As my lease said last months rent I assumed that it would be used for my last month so I figured I would let it go.

I just finished meeting with my landlord to perform a pre-inspection (about 40 days prior to moving out) to review the items he would like to see corrected or completed so that I can get my full deposit back (this was done at my request). I was also confirming with him in this meeting that I don't need to send a check for last months rent on the first as I already paid it up front.  My landlord said that I was incorrect and that I should still pay my last months rent as normal and he will refund me my last months rent plus security deposit should everything check out after I vacate the property.

My question is, was my assumption that a prepaid last month's rent is to be treated as an advance payment. Am I correct that he can't ask me to pay again or treat it as a deposit that he can apply deductions to?

My plans were to not pay my last months rent as I already paid it 2 years ago. This is how prepaid rent works right?  If my landlord disagrees with me what should I do?  Should I inform him that since I prepaid my rent that I will not be making an additional payment for my last month and just continue as planned?

I don't want to screw my landlord.  I don't want to leave the place a dump and still get all of my money back.  I have every intention of doing what is required to get my deposit back. (shampoo carpets, clean the house, fix small holes in walls, trim the weeds in the landscaping, ect.)
I don't think he is being malicious but I don't want to take more risks with my money and have to chase it down.

Points to consider:
1. I have paid rent every month.
2. My rent has never increased so the prepaid amount matches my current monthly rental charge.

Answer:
 > Should I inform him that since I prepaid my rent that I will not be making an additional payment for my last month and just continue as planned?

This is exactly what you should do, along with a copy of the cashed check from when you signed the lease, and a highlighted copy of the lease that states the same.


Title: A vulnerable adult caused upwards of 1000 dollars of damage to a vehicle. what can be done to pay for damages?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Did you forget the part where you include your location and enough details to allow someone to give you advice? Answer #2: You haven't given any specific details, but generally it's a good idea to file a claim with your insurance.


Title: I (m18) fucked up and didnt finish my community service hours in time, whats gonna happen to me

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Present yourself to court, be wellspoken and dress accordingly and explain your honest mistake to the judge. He will likely issue an extension, seen it happen tons of times. Respect the court and the court will respect you. Answer #2: Just call the powers that be on Monday 10/2. Easier to at least call and explain rather than do nothing.


Title: Can my private school observe my genitals while drug testing me?

Question:
So I am a minor and go to a private boarding school in Connecticut. Earlier in the year I was placed on a random urine drug testing contract for being told on for smoking some weed on my birthday. Until recently, things have been going fine, it's a hassle to be pulled out of class randomly to be drug tested, but I understand I am responsible for my situation.

My problem is that recently the school has changed its policy so that the male dean (I am also male), who comes across as a little creepy to me,  is now able to observe the urine "tip to cup" to ensure it has not been tampered with. This is extremely intrusive and uncomfortable for me. I already suspect I suffer from [Paruresis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paruresis) as I have a very hard time urinating while anyone is watching me, and essentially have been unable to take a drug test. The school is now threatening to expel me for being uncooperative.

I don't mind being tested, but the school is unwilling give me any leeway on this, even refusing to issue a less intrusive test, such as hair or saliva. I guess my real question is, can I do anything to stop this? I don't care what I have to do (whether it's claiming that this is a form of sexual harassment or that the school is refusing to recognize my social disorder) I just don't think I can deal with this several times a month for the rest of the year.

Please advise, I need your help.

Thanks

Answer:
 https://www.aclu.org

Explain that you're being forced to expose yourself to a person in the school administration under duress of being expelled. When you get in contact with someone they will refer you to someone that can help you or give advice otherwise.Answer #2: Connecticut expressly prohibits observation by employers of employees in [producing the specimen](http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/wgwkstnd/laws-regs/statute31-51t-thru-31-51aa.htm).

The [Supreme Court held](http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=u10263) that observing a student from behind, with no genital exposure occurring, is acceptable.

I would suspect that the Court would not find this an acceptable way of observing the production of a urine sample.

Also, if you actually do have a medical condition, you should be accommodated for that.  Of course, for that it has to be a diagnosed medical condition.


Title: Inherited a large sum of cash, not sure what to do

Question:
Hello Reddit!

Long time member, yet my first time seeking your collective wisdom. Created this anon account for obvious reasons.

I've recently inherited a large sum of cash (~$100k USD) and am unsure whether it is acceptable for me to deposit that into a normal bank account.

A bit of history - each year, while my grandmother was alive, she used to gift the three of us in my family the maximum allowable amount (USD$10k each) when we traveled to Europe to visit her. For whatever reason, my parents decided to keep that money in a safety deposit box - which I have now inherited.

Nothing to hide, just worried about the sort of attention that such a large amount of cash might draw.

Welcome any thoughts & guidance on sensible next steps.

Thank you all!~

Location is USA

Answer:
 There's nothing fundamentally illegal about depositing that much cash. However, you'll have to fill out a suspicious activity report at your bank when you deposit it.

Six figures is a potentially life-changing amount of money. It's not "retire forever" life-changing, but you should sit down with a financial advisor and an accountant. Sensibly invested, that money can help you have a quite solid retirement fund, for example. If nothing else, you now have a down payment for a house…Answer #2: Damn, if only they had plopped that money in an index fund...

One word of advice - when you deposit 6 figures at a bank, they'll have loads of wonderful services to sell you. Do not let yourself be pressured - as /u/sinderling noted, /r/personalfinance and a financial advisor are good ideas. You want to educate yourself enough to avoid a lot of the scams (of the legal and illegal variety).

To start, for any financial service, ask what the fees are. Always ask the fees, because a low-fee moderately successful option may well beat a high fee quite successful option.Answer #3: Well first dont tell anyone.Answer #4: You'll be scrutinized when you deposit it, and the bank will investigate.  Really though, you want to talk with a financial adiviser to invest that money instead of it just sitting in the bank.

Head over to /r/personalfinance for that.Answer #5: Head over to /r/wallstreetbets and ask them to teach you to YOLO.Answer #6: So, you might want to read this thread. It's technically a repost of "So I just won the lottery -
 what do I do now," but it has a LOT of good and bad ideas (and goes into detail just how megafucked you can be).

https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/24vzgl/you_just_won_a_656_million_dollar_lottery_what_do/


Title: Mother-in-law passed away at 45. Are there any benefits my wife should be trying to collect on her behalf?

Question:
As far as we can tell she didn't have life insurance. Social Security said they don't have anything for us either. Anything else we should consider?

I'm in texas.

Answer:
 In the unlikely event she was a veteran, the VA has some programs.

Also, check with her work for life insurance. Many employees offer a small amount as part of their benefits.


Title: [IL] Obtaining a copy of a marriage certificate when the clerk said it's not public record

Question: Is there any way to obtain a copy of a marriage certificate or license when the county clerk says they won't release it since it's not public record?  Or at least obtaining a marriage date or date the license was issue? I know the county and have a two year time frame but be county clerk won't help me.

Answer: Illinois laws have made marriage certificates confidential records. You may only obtain a certified copy or verification of marriage records if you are specifically named on the marriage certificate, or if you can prove that you have a tangible interest in the person or persons in the certificate.


Title: NEED HELP FROM A DIVORCE LAWYER: My husband is filling divorce papers tomorrow and is forcing me to sign a post nup today- Seattle-WA

Question:
Hello,
My husband is filing divorce papers the whole process takes about 90 days but today he wants me to sign a postnuptial agreement that would basically say that everything that he has is his and everything that I have is mine however we own a car and he refuses to have knowledge the fact that half of it is mine. He also refuses to share our income. I work part-time, and I know I'm entitled to half his money correct?If I don't sign, he threatened, no ASSURED be that he would stop at nothing and he would tell everyone on Facebook he would call all of my friends and tell them that we are divorcing and that he would right away start fucking or dating someone else.
I read somewhere that you can't sign a postnuptial agreement if one of the parties is forced to do so because it would not stand in court is that correct?

Also I am Canadian and he is America we both live in the states and we got married pretty quickly because I wanted to move down to the states and start working. I do not have a credit card in my name except for in Canada he has all the credit cards in his name and I'm and authorized user.

He says that if I consult a lawyer he will for sure tell everyone on Facebook because he says in his words, that he doesn't want me spending his money on a lawyer for me.

I feel like I'm in between a rock and a hard place I feel alone and scared I feel like I am nothing financially and without him. The one thing I also haven't mentioned is that he is incredibly hard on me he puts me down a lot yet I've always tried to be better; he has been verbally abusive to me because of past mistakes that included me going outside my marriage. I have almost no self esteem and have become an alcoholic. I feel like I'm going crazy. It's like I want to be with him cause he's somehow convinced me that I am worthless. Going outside my marriage is not ok, but I feel like I was driven away because I craved his love and care and he would withhold it back so often.
I feel dumb. I feel scared. I need help.

Answer: Stop caring about what gets posted on Facebook.  You absolutely need a lawyer before signing anything.  What he wants is irrelevant.  You need to look after your own interests, and that starts by getting a lawyer.  If you have any local friends who have been divorced, call them up and ask for a recommendation.


Title: [PA] Is my employer violating OSHA for 30 minutes?

Question:
Trying to understand OSHA bathroom rules. We have a 30-minute period where the number of employees (shifts overlap) exceeds 35. We also have two "water closets" the women's having a toiliet and the men's having a urinal and toilet (no walls around it, door to overall room locks).

[This is the page I found](https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9790) and I'm just not sure how to understand it. My co-workers and I just want to poop without walking across the street to Arby's.

If it matters the workforce is about 1/3 female but this varies month-to-month.

Answer:
 > Number of employees means, unless otherwise specified, the maximum number of employees present at any one time on a regular shift.

My intuition is that an excess number of employees during shift change would be allowed, if the shift change is for a reasonable time.

The reality is that the old shift does not teleport out of the building the second that their whistle blows, and it would not be feasible to provision twice the number of bathrooms just for this.

So the contention would be, how much of a shift overlap is reasonable before that becomes the "regular maximum".


Title: Legal advice reguarding eviction

Question:
Hey guys so I am in a bit of a pickle. I am trying to find laws regarding eviction in colorado. My wife and I and our 3 yo kid are being evicted for failure to pay rent, and the fact that the landlord claims we never told her I did not have a felony.

There is no lease involved and we have lived here since December.

My wife and I have multiple text messages from the landlord, many of them being aggressive and rude. On top of that we have asked her to talk to us face to face and she refuses to communicate.

The amount we are behind is $1400. It is about a month and a half of rent. 1000 is for this month, but I believe udner the colorado landlord/tennent act I can withhold rent for making a living space uninhabitable. We have a toilet that has been broken since December and she kept telling us she would get it fixed and has yet to do that. I will be issuing her notice about it. But after she fixes it I will be required to pay the $1000.

If there is anyway you can help me out with this and what should be my next step.

Answer:
 >but I believe udner the colorado landlord/tennent act I can withhold rent for making a living space uninhabitable

You *would have* been able to, maybe. But it doesn't sound like you did; it doesn't sound like you even gave the required notice. You can't retroactively declare that your failure to pay rent was really withholding.

You need to pay what you owe or leave.


Title: Can't afford a lawyer and my case has been neglected for 3 years now

Question:
Where can I find an entertainment lawyer to help me who doesn't take money upfront/retainer deposit? I can't afford an entertainment lawyer. I'm looking for a program or atleast a subbredit where a lawyer is willing to review ones case for free.

*I live in a European country and can't qualify for legal aid in it because the crime does not qualify for jail and because the person is abroad (California, USA)

I had an incident with a TV executive who I corresponded with online and I provided a big theme for a future season. I made it clear that I wanted compensation which they agreed to but we had no contract in place because I was physically in a different country. However, we had a conversation and that's the main point. And the executive did use my theme and it aired in 2013.

The executive has now ignored what I considered to be an agreement. The executive is huge and so is the TV company. I may or may not have a case but I'm dirt poor and on the verge of homelessness, so I desperately want my case to be reviewed.

Where can I find an American lawyer willing to help me? I just want to be told if I have a case or not (no contract in place between the defendant and I so I'm unsure). I may not have a case but I'd rather find out then to give up without even knowing.
The free legal help advice only want short written reviews of the case and I can't provide a full PDF submission, which makes it pretty much useless because I can't even provide the conversation between myself and the defendant.

I can't afford a real lawyer or a good one. And I'm just rotting away.

Where can I find help?
I don't want to give my case to just anyone but I need a good lawyer but can't afford it.
Is there anywhere an entertainment lawyer who is willing to review my case for free?
Is there subbreddit who can help me?

* I'm  ill and so I can only spend limited time in front of a computer screen. It's hard for me to spend hours looking for no cost lawyers - I need help with this.

* I can't afford for a lawyer to take a large percentage of contingency either.

Answer:
 No contract, no non-disclosure, no agreement, no case.

And no chance that even at the slightest sliver of a case would you find an attorney to work for free.Answer #2: There isn't really a secret tip to finding a lawyer who will work for free/cheap/on contingency. They either will or they won't. This kind of thing would take a lot of time for an attorney to investigate, which means it will cost a lot of money. It also has a low chance of success. Nobody will take this on if it isn't going to be profitable.

The lack of a contract makes this difficult. Even if there was some agreement that you'd be compensated for your idea, it doesn't sound like you so much as discussed a price.

E:

>I can't afford for a lawyer to take a large percentage of contingency either.

Come the fuck on, dude. Your lawyer (if you manage to find one) has to put food on his table. If he takes contingency, he only makes money if he *wins*. That means he earned his keep.


Title: Puppy Mills in AZ

Question:
Hi there. This is my first post, and a throwaway account so please be kind if I do not include enough information or if the formatting is all wrong. Might be too long too. Thank you.

I work at one of the popular animal stores here in the valley. The ones you can walk in and buy a $6000 pet.
(Side note: Please do not give me crap about working there. I actually hate working there and am completely against what the company stands for but I stay because, in my mind, it is better to have someone who genuinely cares about the animals rather than someone who doesn't give a shit about their well-being.)

With that being said, I recently found out we do in fact get some of our pups from puppy mills. While this kills me to know and makes me want to quit every day, I stay because I have this crazy idea that I can help get that place, hell even the company, shut down.
Which is why I am here on Reddit in this sub. I am not the smartest person out there, I try to understand things but sometimes I just don't get it. Though from my understanding, there is a law here in Arizona that basically bans any municipalities from banning puppy mills. I also heard there is a law about stores, like the one I work at, only able to get their dogs from breeders and rescues, which have to be displayed on their kennels for customers. My store does not follow that. I know for a fact there is fake paperwork created for some of the pups. There is even a pup right now in our store with no paperwork at all and is not in the system. I also know the paperwork we get for our new animals might come with non-compliant sheets and are those are thrown away. Those non- compliant sheets are violations on the "breeders" part for having too many in kennels, kennels on top of another, or being outside with no ac, and things like that.

The whole situation is fucked up. This is my question, what are my options? I want to get this place shut down. I want everyone to know where these animals really come from and how the company tries to cover it up. There are more fucked up things that happen IN STORE but right now, I just need a place to start. Or to even know if this is worth fighting for? There are 2 other people at my store are helping to gather evidence but will it be enough? What else can we do and who do we go to?

Thank you.

Answer:
 Is a "popular animal store" a large corporate chain? You don't have to ID the store; it just matters based on who investigates.

Usually, whoever runs the shelter has some sort of chief compliance officer that investigates these types of allegations. As far as government agencies are concerned, my best guess would be you'd need to contact anonymously Arizona's Department of Agriculture. At the very least, if they don't handle that, they know who will.

Whatever you do, **do not** go to the media with this sort of information without consulting an attorney about it first, and do not listen to anyone who tells you to do that.


Title: Psychiatric Service Dog and Currently Renting a Condo Unit

Question:
Hey, all! I have a fairly severe psychiatric disorder — schizophrenia — and have, unfortunately, been on SSD for many years now. I have recently moved to Maryland (the D.C. metro area) due to my girlfriend’s great employment opportunity. I can easily provide letters from both my psychologist and psychiatrist to vouch for the quality of life improvement need such an animal would provide me.

My question is this: **Must** I notify/submit a request to the building manager and/or condo’s board prior to acquiring a service dog-in-training (by me, of course), or can I do so retroactively? Oh, and the building obviously has a ‘no pet’ policy, although I know such an animal is not considered a pet under the ADA and FHA.

Many thanks!

Answer:
 Your description is not totally clear if this is a serviced dog or an ESA. If the dog is trained to complete a specific task for your disability then it would be a service dog. If it is not trained to do a specific task but provides support which alleviates symptoms of the disability then you have an ESA.

In either case you need to notify your landlord before the dog moves in. If it is an ESA you will need to provide documentation from one of your professionals that you are disabled and require the dog. It is very important you do this before moving in because there are reason that a landlord could refuse, or simply not be subject to the FHA. In which case you would be stuck with your lease and no dog.


Title: Hippa guys I have a question 🙋♂

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 Possibly, for the people who got their vaccines at the facility.

But it seems like the "bigger agenda" is probably to keep another 600,000 Americans from dying from a raging pandemic.


Title: Wrongful termination at Tesla

Question:
My SO was let go today after working at Tesla factories for 2 years. During this time he has had excellent reviews and had been given 3 promotions.

He was brought into HR three weeks ago because someone’s (superviser of another department) black backpack was stolen. This person claims they saw my SO walk out the building with their black backpack.

My SO had had a black Jansport backpack he has brought to and from work every day for two years. And he was able to show HR his backpack and try to tell them the “eye witness” must have been mistaken.

Today he was brought into HR and fired. They said they have video evidence of him leaving the building with he backpack. He again asked if they seen the video of him arriving to work with the same back pack to which HR just response “we have seen all the footage”
My SO asked to see the tapes and they denied him.

I am seeking an attorney, but was wondering if anyone else had similar situation? Or what the best outcome would be? Any advice? Thank you

Answer: Best outcome is that he gets unemployment and they don't tell people he was fired for theft. Nothing about this is illegal, you can be fired for any reason (including a bad or wrong one) or no reason at all so long as the reason isn't membership in a protected class. The company incorrectly thinking you stole something from a co-worker isn't a protected class. On these facts your SO has no case.Answer #2: He should claim unemployment and dispute their inevitable denial. Otherwise, as an at will employee, he can be fired for any (nondiscriminatory) reason.Answer #3: Nothing about this was illegal. The person could've been fired for not having a blue or pink Jansport backpack tooAnswer #4: Location is not optional. In any US State but Montana that's not a wrongful termination.


Title: Friend supposedly forced to be a prostitute

Question: An online friend from a different state claims her parents are trying to force her to be a prostitute, she IS underage.

Answer:
 She should call the police.

You should also call the police if you know where she lives.Answer #2: Like another poster said she will probably be asking for money to get away -- such as for a bus or plane ticket. When she does that you know it is a scam. There is no girlAnswer #3: I expect next she'll be requesting money so she can get away from the situation.

If you know where she can be found, report it to CPS or she can call CPS herself.


Title: I think someone is falsely representing my business and taking money from people pretending that its going to me

Question:
I hired someone to be a salesperson for my web development LLC through linkedin jobs. They were supposed to start today. They tell me something about setting up paypal, which I thought was odd. Why do they need paypal yet? If its to enable me to pay them, we would surely not have a job right away on the first day, it takes at least a few calls for a sale to close.

She also stopped answering my phone calls and text messages.

Now I'm realizing that she wants to pretend that she's me and take money from people, saying that its going to me for the work, but its really going to her. She is probably showing them my online portfolio and saying that she did it. (I have multiple reasons to think so, a couple of which I listed above)

What can I do? On an NDA she signed for me she wrote a name and a town with a zip code (and I don't even know if those are false or not).

Answer: From a practical point of view, I'd add something to your site and portfolio making it clear who's running it - and possibly that no money should change hands until the job, quote and everything has been confirmed by you. I'll leave the legal advice to the experts!


Title: [TN] Warrant for Burglary Charge

Question:
So I have a coworker who was just denied a conceal/carry permit on the basis that he has three outstanding warrants issued last July, two counts of fraud and one count of burglary.  He is absolutely dumbfounded and has been trying to figure out the cause.

From the information he has received, he purchased a car battery last summer at an auto parts store using his own credit card and purchased a warranty on the battery, signing his name to the warranty agreement.  Before his purchase, another customer attempted a purchase with a stolen credit card which was denied.  An hour before the auto parts store, the stolen card had successfully used at a nearby gas station.

Apparently after the fraud came to light, the auto parts store linked him to the stolen card, since he was the next customer, though the warranty agreement.  The store figured he attempted the purchase with the stolen card, was denied, then used his personal card.  On that basis, the warrants were issued.

What's his best course of action?  Any 'evidence' is entirely circumstantial and he had absolutely nothing to do with the stolen card.  He wants to avoid going to the sheriff or courthouse for the fear they may actually arrest him and he will need to make bond (apparently $3,500).  Is there a chance of that happening?

Answer: Your coworker should talk to a lawyer.  This can get unfucked with the expertise of a quality criminal defense lawyer.  It should not be too expensive either.


Title: Is it legal for a moderator to ban me ? (Colorado)

Question: A moderator of the subreddit r/hentai banned me for posting a picture when it was harmless and didn't break the rules.  He basically ridicules me through the ban message and mocks me. Can I do anything about this?

Answer: You have no legal right to access Reddit or any specific subreddits. Answer #2: Like in your other post where you asked this: this is completely legal, the only thing you can do about it is by creating your own sub or website.Answer #3: Do you really want to make it public that you get off to cartoon pictures? Do you really want to make a public issue about that one picture that they banned? That one picture will be scrutinized if you take this to court. I'm guessing that picture wasn't your standard, run of the mill, hentai. Answer #4: Create your own subreddit wiith Blackjack and 2D Hookers.


Title: Somebody just hit me with their car

Question: About one hour ago, someone hit me with their car while I was cycling to school. I am currently at home and with a slight headache and a swollen ankle, but the for the rest nothing to bad, but my bike has seen better days... She did give me het contact info Just in case. Say that something happens, for example, the headache gets worse and I have to go see a doctor to see whats wrong, can I hold the woman who it me responsible for the for the damage to the bike and the medical bills (if they are even needed)

Answer: Well, you should have called the police right then and there. Did you get her insurance information as well? That's what you really need.


Title: My bosses are trying to make my life miserable at work in the hopes that I'll quit.

Question:
Roughly two weeks ago, I was walking past the office areas of where I work and I heard my name come up. I ended up eavesdropping on my two bosses and they were both discussing the simple matter of them not liking me because I "have a punchable face" and I'm "just plain weird". One of them brought up that they want to fire me, but they can't simply fire someone because they don't like them and they said it'd be too risky to try and frame me for something or make up a reason to fire me, so one of them brought up just making my life here miserable and doing everything possible to make me quit of my own accord. They mentioned trying to isolate me and my crush, some girl that I like here.

Ever since then, I've noticed that me and my crush have barely seen each other at work, thanks due to the actions of my bosses. For starters, she's suddenly in charge of training new hires (something she's never done before) and the store has seen a sudden increase in the hiring of Native American men. And guess who's also Native American: My crush. And who's in charge of training these Native men? Also my crush. And not only that, but our bosses have suddenly implemented this new rule where each employee has a scheduled break time instead of breaking whenever we want. Me and my crush use to go on break together, but now me and her are on different break schedules and of course, her and the Native guys break together according to the schedule. And in the rare moments that me and my crush get together, our boss is magically there to swoop in and break us together. There was even one blatant incident when my crush was standing at the time clock waiting to punch in and my boss said to her "Hey, you should go talk to him (a Native guy) because he looks pretty lonely." and I could see my boss side-eyeing me while doing it.

The stuff with my crush aside, my boss has also just started saying things to me like "This job is going under pretty soon, so I'd just start looking for another job if I were you." It's so painfully obvious that he wants me to quit and I'd be able to pick up on it even if I hadn't overheard him and the other boss.

The thing is that I don't want to quit this job. I actually like it here. I get overtime, full benefits, and I'm paid well above the minimum wage. I'm able to support myself with this job and jobs like that are hard to come by in our small rural town of Bisbee, Arizona. I want to keep working here, but my bosses are making me miserable here with the intent of getting me to quit just because they dislike me for no apparent reason. Legally, is there anything I can do about this?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 NAL but Are you sure this isn’t due to a complaint from your crush? Have you made your crush feel uncomfortable? Based on what you described thats how it reads to me...

Answer #2: If you don't want to quit, then don't quit. Answer #3: They could just fire you.  Or they can do what they are doing.  It's legal to discriminate as long as they aren't discriminating against a protected class.


Title: Movers lost my $2300 computer. Is there anything I can do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: They did not lose it someone took it, and if you didn't have insurance on the move they only owe you .10 a lb for lost or damaged items.


Title: Grease on fence?

Question:
There is a fence on the property I live on (apartments, 600+ people) that is commonly climbed over as a shortcut to get to a nearby store.

Recently, they have been putting vaseline or some kind of grease on top of the fence to discourage climbing. There is no sign that says "no climbing fence" or anything like that.

I am wondering if somebody were to slip and get hurt if the land owner would be liable. This is in Bellingham, Washington State

Answer: Yes. They could be sued. Whether the lawsuit would be successful… Who knows. I personally would rather not find out.


Title: Landlord is harassing us against lease, do we have any recourse?

Question: We live in Fairbanks, Alaska and moved into our current residence May 15. I am only going to be living here till September 15th so we signed a month to month agreement with our landlord but it does have our final move out date in the agreement as well. Because we moved in on the 15th, they changed our due date to the 15th of each month instead of pro-rating our rent and it states that our rent is due the 15th of each month on the first page of the rental agreement but I just received an eviction notice because we didn't pay on the 1st. Last month they told us we owed a late fee because we didn't pay on the 1st so I brought up the rental agreement and refused to pay the late fee and I paid it on the 15th, like I was supposed to. Is there anything we can do? My understanding is that the eviction notice should be no good because the landlady is the one going against our lease agreement, am I right in assuming that? And if they backpedal again, is there anything I can do about the harassment?

Answer: It sounds like you're correct. If your lease states that you're to pay rent on the 15th, that's when it's due. What did your landlord say when you tried to ask about the eviction notice? And was it just a notice that you have x amount of days to move out or else it goes to court for actual eviction?


Title: My daughter was bitten by a dolphin at SeaWorld, should I seek legal action?

Question:
We counted 16 dolphins in the petting area at SeaWorld San Antonio, TX which seemed like too many for such a small area. When we spoke to management about the situation, they quickly tried to relieve our worries with a behind the scenes dolphin tour and season passes but I'm worried a little more pressure in a bite could seriously hurt another child.  Should I pursue legal action or am I simply overreacting?

http://imgur.com/tiRtUyE

Edit: My daughter is fine.  I'm not asking about bodily injury to my daughter, I'm questioning the environment the dolphins are kept in and if it's really safe for kids to pet and feed 16 dolphins that are contained in one feeding area.  Just don't want other kids to get hurt worse. My question was answered.  Thanks.

Answer:
 I think when you are petting wild animals, you take a measure of responsibility. Answer #2: I don't think you can sue a dolphin sir. However, I can't stop you. Can I possibly give you a referral for a great lawyer?

[This guy is the best!](http://i.imgur.com/aab0Kgf.jpg)Answer #3: What are you going to sue for? What damages did your daughter suffer? Her skin isn't even broken, so you couldn't even win $0.50, or the cost of a band-aid.


Title: My mom wants a divorce, dad doesn't because he doesnt see a way for 50% this way.

Question:
Tl;dr:
Mom wants house, pretty much all of our worth, because its her passion and life, dad wants 50% of worth. Compromise?

My mom wants to keep the house and garden, because it's literally her life. She grew up on a farm and worked on this house for over 20 years now. My dad basicly doesn't want to lose more than half his stuff.
I'm searching for a good compromise, that would give my mom the house and my dad 50% of the wealth. The house was bought for 500k (all paid off), and we estimate it to be at ~1m now.
My dad has a well paid job, whereas my mother works as a nurse 50%. Both are few years off retirement.

We live in Switzerland.
Please help me to find a compromiss, we tried everything. And i think a good compromiss will help them both.

Answer:
 Your mom can buy your dad out.Answer #2: Unless his 50% of the house can be compensated with other assets, your mom's plan isn't realistic unless your father is willing to essentially gift her his half.

Could an agreement be make for her to get the house, and in doing so, she would forgo any spousal support?


Title: Three weeks of wages withheld from potentially-failing small business.

Question:
My wife (who doesn’t use Reddit), quit her at-will job verbally without notice on May 4, 2018. Upon leaving the job, she sent an email to her boss asking that her final checks be mailed to our home address.

Her boss replied with an email saying she would be happy to release the checks pending a signed resignation form from my wife. Correctly suspecting this to be a bullshit power play, we emailed the state’s (WI) department of labor rights who confirmed that she didn’t need to sign such a document.

In this time we’ve lived out of our thin savings account and are now on credit cards instead.

Now after three weeks of not seeing the check or hearing from her boss and having an open case with the state’s department of workforce development, we’ve contacted an attorney for a consultation. We thought this was the right path, as we can easily prove her hours that were worked and not paid.

Until...

She talked to a friend who is still there and literally everybody at the business (a hair salon - my wife was an hourly receptionist btw) except the owner and manager are leaving.

We’re worried the business will go under and the money will not be paid.

Since today is the deadline for her to pay the missing wages, we are wondering if it’s wise to contact her former boss and owner threatening litigation if they do not release the money owed.

Any advice is welcome. We were feeling confident about just entering litigation, but are now worried that by the time we have a case, the business will have filed chapter 11 and gone solvent with no ability or way to pay these lost wages.

Answer:
 No resignation paperwork needs signing, your wife does NOT need to sign anything to get the last check. Final checks can only be withheld on the basis of company equipment return, like company computers that need to be sent back. Since there's nothing like that in your post, they need to send the final check.

Contact the former boss, threaten legal action if the check isn't in _your_ mailbox in the next few days. Get that money.Answer #2: Threatening legal action is a useless step in 95+% of cases, especially this one.  The better option is to simply follow through on said legal action.

Follow through with that unpaid wages claim with the state department.  Update them that the deadline was today and no check was received, and ask about a timetable for when you’ll hear back next.

In most cases ten unpaid wages claim is the best avenue to do this, but if for whatever reason you need to sue then file in small claims court right away.

Or better yet, follow up with that attorney you contacted.