Title: [US][NE]Game dev wants me to sign a waiver to play in their online showmatch

Question:
This game company and their production company have held multiple showmatches/tourneys int he past, but this is the first time that they've asked that we sign anything like this. The previous ones were all livestreamed as well. I just want to know if they are trying to/can do anything shady with this, seeing as I myself am a content creator and it asks for rights to use my content.
Here is the text of the waiver, with the name of the company removed:
Livestreaming Consent

I have agreed to participate in a ---------- match which will be livestreamed over the internet through (but not limited to) Twitch®.  I understand that my gameplay and Steam account name will be visible to anyone watching the livestream and anyone accessing video archives of the livestream.

I hereby grant permission to ------------, its representatives, employees, parent and assigns (collectively -----------) to utilize my Steam account name, video of my online game play, image and name without restrictions for any lawful purpose (including by way of example and not limitation, publicity, illustration, presentations, and web content), all without prior examination or approval by me, including any written copy that may be created in connection therewith.

I hereby release ----------- from any and all claims and liability related to said livestream and video as agreed to in this document, including without limitation any claims based on libel, the right of publicity or privacy.

I am at least 18 years old and have the right to contract in my own name.  This agreement shall be binding upon me and my heirs, legal representatives and assigns.

I have read the above consent and release and fully understand the contents thereof.

Answer:
 I suspect that they've probably just finally hired an inhouse attorney that actually knows what they are doing. Looks fairly standard to me.

It just means they are allowed to use the livestream of your gameplay for their own purposes.


Title: Potentially facing drivers license revocation for three speeding tickets in 18 months? [NY State]

Question:
Ok, so I'm panicking a bit because I didn't realize these were that close. I just got a speeding ticket in late December 2017 for going 80 in a 65. It had been a while so I thought it was fine, but I have 2 past speeding tickets for which I pleaded guilty, one in October 2016 and one in January 2017, resulting in 10 points on my license currently.

I was planning on just pleading guilty again, which I realize now I may be an idiot for, but my court date is on Tuesday. I immediately registered for an online defensive driving course the DMV website linked that can result in 4 points reduction, but apparently the fact that it's three speeding violations overrules that?

The thing is, with this most recent ticket I really don't think I could argue it down, as I was driving a work van (big F350), which has pretty poor site, and, well, I had the music pretty loud. I didn't notice the police car was behind me with his lights on for apparently 2 miles according to him. I pulled over as soon as I noticed, but he wasn't exactly in a good mood. I didn't admit to knowing how fast I was going, but he noted on the ticket that he was following me for 2 miles at 80 mph.

I started frantically googling and found this website, should I be contacting a lawyer to figure this out? I don't know if I could get this reduced, but maybe one of my past ones?

Honestly this would really fuck me up right now with work as I have to travel for a good part of it, not to mention getting to the office when I'm not.

EDIT: Also, this was in Rochester, which is part of the Traffics Violation Bureau apparently.
EDIT2: Sorry, wrote this in a rush, my court date is not on Tuesday, my plea is due by Tuesday. And the ticket was not in Rochester, in was in Henrietta and so is the court, so I'm not sure if this makes a difference.

Answer: yes, three in 18 months is a revocation. The points don't matter. and this is a revocation not a suspension.If you get caught driving while revoked you can go to jail and have a criminal record. You need to talk to a traffic attorney to see if they can do anything. You can't risk doing this yourself and messing up.


Title: Found a webpage with dozens of credit card info. On Facebook. What should I do, who should I contact?

Question:
I was looking up an old business address on Facebook and one of the results was a post that was just a long list of First, Last, Address, City, State, CCV, CC numbers, Expiration dates most in 2015.

One of the addresses was the one that I had looked up, in Oakland, California.

My friend who is a police officer says most local jurisdictions aren't interested, try contacting FB. I figure FB will just take it down and move on.

What do you recommend?

I won't post the page here...for obvious reasons.

Answer: Report it to Facebook - they have the authority to have it removed. Not much else for you to do.


Title: IRS has no record of receiving the withholding taxes from my 2014 W-2, suspect my boss didn't pay anything to the gov't

Question:
American here in Maryland. I made a mistake in my 2014 taxes and did not claim some retirement funds I cashed out. That is on me and is my mistake. However, in alerting me about this, the IRS clued me into something far more troubling:

I just received a written notice from the IRS that the amount of tax withheld on my W-2s for 2014 doesn’t match what they have in their system. After looking at the numbers, it seems that ALL of my total withholding from 2014 didn’t actually make its way to the IRS from my employer. Which is to say, $0 of the $5k+ reported on the W-2 made it to the govt from my employer (the only tax withheld listed is from the retirement fund I didn’t claim) and they are now asking for me to pay all of this.

I don’t know if this constitutes proof, but it sure looks like my boss said she paid the taxes/govt stuff on the W-2 from my wages but in fact did not (and who knows how much else besides)…

I had a contract for this job and was paid the wages figured out for taxes removed (ie I was receiving everything with taxes already taken out). I received handwritten checks written out of the business’ bank account, often for odd amounts ($600 here, $1100 there, etc) but no pay stubs (though there is apparently a payroll program in which all of my salary and taxes info was inputted). I have an email trail for payments and most if not all of the paper checks, plus records of deposit with my bank that I can gather up if needed. I also have my 2014 W-2. I am not involved with payroll at all and in fact always told my boss I wanted nothing to do with it when she tried to get me to help.

My question is: I have three weeks until this bill is due or to present a counter-argument for what they’re saying I owe. The retirement thing is 100% on me, and I’ll settle that, but this other thing is far more pressing and worrying for me now. Do I go to the IRS with all of this info directly and explain and attempt to prove that I wasn’t trying to defraud them, that I was acting based on the information I had and believed to be accurate? Do I go to my employer and let them know? Do I need a lawyer or an accountant or what? I have limited funds right now but I’ll do what I need to do to show I didn’t collude in tax avoidance, but if there's a way through this that doesn't take paying someone else when I'm already potentially on the hook to the IRS for this, that'd be preferable. I am 100% willing to work with the IRS or whoever to show my innocence. Is it okay to contact my boss about this? I don’t want to be accused of anything by the IRS, which is my chief concern right now (unless something else should be).

Also, I worked for this employer last year as a W-2 employee as well before transitioning to an independent contractor, so do I need to preemptively do anything about these same issues for my 2015 taxes ahead of being accused of the same thing?

Thanks for any help you can give!

Answer:
 > but it sure looks like my boss said she paid the taxes/govt stuff on the W-2 from my wages but in fact did not (and who knows how much else besides)…

Maybe.  Boss could have screwed up the SSN too.  It won't hurt to ask.

>Also, I worked for this employer last year as a W-2 employee as well before transitioning to an independent contractor,

If you get a 1099 as a contractor, they won't withhold anything, but the part of 2015 you were an employee should have witholding.  NOTE: it's worth googling "independent contractor"  often companies will attempt to categorize employees incorrectly.


Title: Sister and her BF broke up and he is refusing to leave

Question:
Sorry for terrible formatting.

My sister [22] and her boyfriend [25] of a year and a half have been having problems since the beginning of December. They are on a lease which ends 30 July. They have kept dragging the relationship on and tried to “work things out” basically until the lease ends, but my sister can’t handle it anymore. He is extremely messy, leaves dirty dishes around the house to the point that they mold, recently started smoking weed in the house, and sleeps all day after work. (Seriously, naps from like 4pm until 9pm). This guy is a total loser and has no ambition in life. Anyway, she asked him to move out by May 31st and she would cover the last months rent on her own. He has friends he would be able to stay with. He is refusing to leave until their lease ends. He is being manipulative and condescending to her by saying things like “well you shouldn’t have broken up with me yet,” and “well I’m on the lease so I don’t have to leave”. It makes no sense to me that he would want to stay for any reason other than to make this last month and a half miserable for her. They never put down a security deposit so I’m worried that he will leave the place trashed when he does eventually leave and she will have to clean it up on her own. Is there anything she can do to get him removed from the lease early? This is in Washington state, btw.
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 > He is refusing to leave until their lease ends.

That is his right.

>  Is there anything she can do to get him removed from the lease early?

No.Answer #2: He’s on the lease, so while it would be nice of him to leave he doesn’t have any obligation to.


Title: Help? My delusional ex-boss is trying to sue me for something I didn't do...

Question:
Obviously this isn't the best platform for legal advice. But I wanted to get a general opinion on what I should do:

I was employed at this small business (based in northern Virginia) since August 2012 right after high school. My boss (owner) is not the most reasonable person to work with, and by October 2013, everyone else in my office had quit/got fired due to speaking up. Considering that I didn't have any other jobs lined up and I personally never had issues with my boss (because I never worked too closely with him), I had stayed. However since I was the only employee at his disposal, I was promoted to manage the entire company and work closely with my boss than ever. I started having problems with him almost immediately since I started working as a manager:

- overtime & working weekends (paid at regular hours rate, and i would work on a typical day 15 hours in the office to cover for understaffing)
- unpaid off-site hours (if extensive, he would ask me to write my hours worked but he would bully me into not charging anyways)
- sexual harassment (he's kissed me on my forehead and cheeks, caressed my shoulders and lower back, its not his culture - he's east asian)
- verbal harassment (he's my dad's age but would tell me if he was younger, we would be perfect together)
- verbal abuse (he's called me curse words when i would speak up about the working environment)
- unwanted physical contact (he would nudge my head during our meeting)
- bullying (he would say things like "you wouldn't know because this is your first REAL job")
- no benefits (he instead categorized me as a independent contractor so he wouldn't pay my taxes)
- age/gender discrimination (all my work - the good and the bad - was related back to the fact that I was a young female)
- a lot of other crap

I had spoken to my mother that my workplace isn't ideal and she (a single mother of two who went through hell herself providing for us) said that no workplace is so I thought this is just the things that I would have to endure. By August 2014, an incident happened:

My boss is not tech-savvy. He tried sending our client an email with 5 attachments but kept yelling across my office saying his emails were getting rejected. I told him to try sending the attachments separately since there may be a attachment-size limit, and he said three of them were rejected again. He told me to send them out instead, so I asked him if he could identify which ones successfully sent out. He turned it around, and asked me "are you personally attacking me bitch?." I was so dumbfounded and told him "I don't appreciate words like that and I'm only asking you so that I can complete my task." and he told me to go home. Next day, I submitted my resignation letter with advanced notice. He said he would be hiring someone right away so that I can train her. He hired an individual who knew nothing of our business or the industry we worked in. He asked me to stay longer until she felt comfortable with her position, I said yes (stupid) as I didn't have any other jobs lined up. Eventually my resignation letter was a thing of the past because that new individual quit too.

October 2014, still new employees quitting within a couple of months. One had a talent in writing and wrote an article about my boss and sexual harassment in the workplace. His name or the company name was not mentioned. July 2015, we had gotten new employees. Best team I've ever had to work with. My boss started getting comfortable too and started napping 6+ hours/workday in his room. I didn't mind - as long as he didn't bother us. September 2015, boss went on a business trip. Now he needs to work by the client's schedule and got stressed out day 1. He called the office and fired two assistants out of the blue. His excuse to others was that they were not good at their jobs. Of course I know his impulse better. Later that evening I spoke to him on the phone to update him on office tasks and touched on that subject of the employees he fired. It was a busy season and our office needed them dearly - didn't have the time to train anyone else. Because I spoke up, he threatened my job security yet again and asked me to confirm my commitment to the company by the time of his return. October 2015, I submitted my resignation letter. Our company is at-will (employees can quit whenever, employer can fire whenever) and I didn't give any notice. Perhaps it was a little immature or unprofessional of me but I thought I did my duties as a employee and I didn't want to go through another week of abuse. I had completed tasks for the foreseeable future (2 months worth) and/or wrote out step-by-step directions on how to complete the tasks if I could not complete the task myself (if it involved another party's involvement) to account for my abrupt departure.

November 2015, a casually dressed woman that my boss had newly hired as an assistant hand delivered a scanned copy of a letter to my mom who was at my family home. A week later I got the original copy from the law firm he hired. The letter accused me of stealing confidential company information to distribute to competitors in which he suspected I was working for and soliciting our employees to work with me (because they had soon quit after I left which had nothing to do with me although I wasn't surprised). I wrote to the attorney saying I understand the confidentiality and non-solicitation provisions contained in my employment agreement and that I haven't violated anything. He demanded that I appear for a deposition in which he DID NOT serve me a subpoena for. After months of the attorney harassing me to appear (I seriously had no availability), he said he would offer me a final straw and have me sign an affidavit instead claiming that I didn't break the employment agreement. No previous employee ever had to sign anything at the time of their resignation. This was a new practice that was never mentioned during my time of employment, neither verbal nor textual. I told the attorney to give me a week to review the document with an attorney from my end. He then got mad at me and said he won't wait for me and will pursue litigation.

I don't have the financial means to hire an attorney. I don't want to pursue a countersuit if I don't have a case. What should I do? Thanks and sorry if you read this far.

Answer:
 OP- I'd start with trying to get paid for your unpaid work. If *you've clearly documented* which hours you should be paid for, I'd file a claim with your state's labor board to see if they can compel your former employer to pay you.

Once that process is completed, I'd see an attorney about the sexual harassment you describe. Many attorneys will work and take a cut of any settlement if they believe you have a strong case.

For the legal action your employer is trying to take against you, I'd ignore him (do *not* talk to his attorney further) unless you get served.Answer #2: 1. Never tolerate treatment like this ever again. No one should ever touch you in the workplace except for safety reasons (preventing you from taking a fall, etc.).
2. We need to know your location so we can best determine what action you can pursue.
3. If you are issued any summons from a court, show up. Otherwise, do not communicate with these people. Do not sign anything and do not volunteer your side of the story. It sounds a lot like they are full of shit and trying to trip you up or intimidate you on the assumption that you are young and inexperienced.Answer #3: You might want to add a tl;dr with the actual legal parts of this. Your old boss is terrible (is he the owner? Only way I can see him not fired) and you should have quit well before you did but that information isn't super relevant to the legal question here


Title: Dentist & Broken Jaw

Question:
Question...
Friend went to get her wisdom teeth pulled, as she was waking up she remembers the Dentist & assistant restraining her,  telling her don't move or talk.

The dentist actually broke her jaw during the removal of the tooth.

Was told no real recourse because "this thing happens all the time"

It's been 3 mo now, still no solid foods for my friend, still pain, can't really talk.

Any truth to "nothing can be done, it's so common"?

Answer:
 I am neither a lawyer or a dentist, but I have had all of my wisdom teeth removed. Prior to each extraction I signed a release form acknowledging that there was a chance of my jaw breaking. In fact, my jaw actually was broken during one extraction. So, while not exactly “common”, it definitely does happen and is “normal”.

Mine took about 5 months to fully heal. If your friend has major concerns, see a doctor and get an x-ray, but at this point there isn’t really much that can be done outside of your standard pain-management options. Answer #2: I'd bet good money she signed a document before the extraction acknowledging that broken jaws are rare but possible when you get teeth extracted. Answer #3: She went to a doctor and got actual medical treatment after that right?

She can talk to a lawyer who does medical malpractice if she has any significant bills to recover.


Title: [PA] Daddy wants Mommy to leave him alone and still be able to see his kid.

Question: [removed]

Answer: Sam can retain a family law attorney and petition the courts for a custody agreement, and/or DNA test if required.


Title: I'm being falsely accused of making threats towards my bank.

Question:
OK for starters, yes as my username implies this is a throwaway account as this is still being investigated by police.

So this morning I decided to order a new stereo for my new truck. I get a call a while later while at work from the customer service department of the website I ordered from informing me there is a problem processing my payment as my bank is stating the address on file for my card is different than what was entered for the order. So I call my bank and explain the situation and provide my info to pull up my account. The lady on the phone verifies that my address is correct and that they have already approved the transaction for the purchase. So I thank her and hang up to call back the website and finish sorting out my order. Turn s out I made a typo in my address that the first representative didn't catch. All good now I think.

Well about an hour later I get a call from my dad saying the police were just at our house looking for me about some threat to a bank. (I currently live with my parents due to a job loss last year) I'm confused as he'll at this point. I'm thinking maybe it's something to do with an insurance check I cashed earlier this week from my vehicle being totalled that I was using to purchase a new vehicle. A few minutes after getting off the phone with my dad I get called to the office at work to discover a sheriff's deputy waiting for me. We go to another room to talk and he explains that my bank received a bomb threat this morning and claim it came from my phone number. I'm thinking WTF? How? He asks me some questions and I explain that yes I did call the bank about my address but that was it. I wasn't angry or upset with them or anything of the sort. I was perfectly polite to the lady and she resolved my issue very quickly. I don't know how this could happen. The cop took my information and said someone would be in touch later today. I work in a different county than I live so this officer didn't have much detail and was going to report back to the investigators in my home county. Im still at work and haven't heard anything from anyone else yet.

Do I need to get a lawyer? Should I be worried? Is there anything I should be doing to make sure I don't get arrested for a crime I didn't commit? I've just been freaking out about this all day at work.

Answer: Yes get a lawyer immediately. Find out if you called on a recorded line, which I’m willing to bet it was a recorded line and have the lawyer pull the tapes. You should be able to prove what happened when you hear the tapes and whether or not they are mistaken. It will be heavily scrutinized. Don’t talk without a lawyer, seriously.


Title: [Florida] Follow-Up #2/Rant/

Question:
 Chronic Sexual Harassment in Small Company
Question:[First follow-up here](http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2z7659/florida_followup_chronic_sexual_harassment_in/); [original post here](http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2yyl1n/florida_chronic_sexual_harassment_by_bossowner_of/)

My friend has been sexually harassed at work by the owner, basically since day one. The final straw was last week (see earlier posts), and she spoke to an attorney today. We already knew, thanks to the kind people of this sub, that she wouldn't be able to sue under EEOC or local Florida employment law because the company has fewer than 15 employees. Already ridiculous, but ok, what are you gonna do?

But it gets worse.

Apparently because this latest incident occurred at 5:15pm, technically **after work hours**, the attorney says there's little my friend can do. She'd have a hard time bringing him to court and she would even have a hard time collecting unemployment if she involuntarily resigns.

*WHAT???*

Is this normal? Is this just another case of Florida being a shit hole? Is the attorney an idiot?

This is so fucking infuriating. This douchebag can get away with threatening my friend's physical and emotional wellbeing and she can do absolutely NOTHING about it? Fantastic.

Answer: Did she explain to this attorney that, while the incident was after normal working hours, it occurred in her workplace before she had concluded her work for the day? Because if I didn't hear that part of it, I'd get a very different impression of what happened than what you say happened.


Title: [US / FL] Landlord is re-paving the parking lot. Waives all responsibility for any damage caused to anything, including towing, for 30+ days.

Question:
Landlord of apartment complex wants to re-pave the lot. In the email I got telling me this, there's this bit after the schedule;

>Unfortunately, any vehicle in the blocked off areas after 8:00 A.M. on the above-mentioned dates, will require towing at the owner's expense.  With your cooperation, we don't foresee this situation occurring.
>
>*COMPANY* cannot be responsible for damage to cars parked within a 50-foot radius of the barricaded area. *COMPANY* is not responsible for damages and/or injuries arising from people and/or vehicles entering barricaded areas. *COMPANY* is not responsible for liability arising from barricades being removed by others.
>
>We will complete the work as soon as possible, subject to weather conditions.  If the schedule changes, you will receive new notices with the new date.
>
>Thank you for your cooperation.  We know you will be pleased with the results!

Dates are from mid November to mid December with whole lot paving/patching lasting weeks and covering the entire lot at once as per their schedule. I'm not at work by 8 AM so this is pretty concerning to me as I don't know what to do, aside from find another place to park.

While I know the answer is just move my car so I don't get hassled and then be on the hook for towing fees (which my insurance agent says I'm not covered for unless the car is disabled when towed), I guess I really just want to know; can they really just waive all damage to everything/close the lot via email like this? What do I look for in my lease to see if this is permitted?

Email came from the landlords company, pavement company/towing company is a different company.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 They can claim anything they want. If someone suffers damages from the work it will be up to a court to decide if the company or contractors have any liability. Answer #2: Hah, well, I disclaim myself of criminal liability after I rob this bank...

Not how it works, though you do know of the closure, so don't park there.

Is the parking spot guaranteed in your lease?


Title: My dad has been running his business under my (23F) personal info and now I'm thousands in dept.

Question:
I've always helped my dad with his construction/remodeling business. For a short time he had a restaurant as well. He ran his construction business fairly well until life started going downhill a few years ago. My dad isn't a citizen/resident of the US so he asked for my help to be able to open a restaurant about 3 years ago. Of course I had to put my personal info, such as my S.S.N and so on. That didn't end well and now I owe a substantial amount to the IRS and it's been about a year since we closed down. Since then my dad hasn't been able to provide payment to cover that debt. I've also provided my dad with my personal info for his construction business these past couple of years. He didn't manage to do his taxes for this last year. As of recently too, he didn't complete his end of the bargain on a job so now I'm getting a LEAN (maybe) placed on me for his irresponsibility. Having all this will make it well over $100,000.00. If the LEAN isn't placed, then possibly around $40,000.00. I need to calculate the numbers to be sure.

My dad was never this irresponsible until now. Everything went downhill 3 years ago after an affair my dad had. He's been lazy, irresponsible in his job and with his employees, he's succumbed to substance abuse, and his attitude is quite terrible and sometimes violent. Completely different from what he used to be.

My question is, what options do I have? What can I do about all this? I don't have a job to cover any of those expenses because my dad didn't allow me to. I'm looking for a job at the moment against my dad's wishes. He continues to badger me to help him with his business but I don't want anything under my personal info anymore. Plus he hasn't been giving it his all and I can't work for him like that. He's left me with more than I can manage.

I've tried to be as helpful of a daughter as I could but this is too much. I'm sure my credit is bad. Because of him I haven't been able to finish school, get a car, or even have my own job. Any advice would help and be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 Because you willingly participated, and because you were an adult at the time, you're going to be on the hook up to the limits of liability created by your business. If it's a sole prop, there are no limits. If it's an LLC and the business' finances are kept separate, then the limits are the business' assets, not your personal assets, other than where you've signed a separate agreement guaranteeing the business.

Talk to a small business attorney about your options. Your state bar can refer you to one. Likely outcomes at this point:

* If it's a limited-liability entity, liquidating it through a business bankruptcy to settle outstanding debts and wrap this up. You'll walk away, with only the debts you co-signed left to deal with.

* If it's not a limited entity, $100,000 in outstanding obligations is well past the point where talking to a personal bankruptcy attorney is a good idea.

Do not take any further advice from your father on this, or sign anything related to the business, until you've spoken to an attorney. Winding this down is largely a matter of procedure, but if you mishandle it you can end up with debts that survive bankruptcy or that attach to you personally in spite of your business entity's structure.

You can expect that a personal bankruptcy will crater your credit for the next 7 to 10 years, but you'll be free of the included debts.


Title: Can a college professor legally call a hospital to validate an absence from class?

Question: My mom was recently in a severe accident and had to be taken to the hospital.  She is now in a rehabilitation center in the United States where I went to visit instead of going to class. I gave my professor a copy of an evaluation that they did on her to validate my absence.  In my curiosity, does my professor have the legal grounds to contact that rehabilitation center and see if he is a patient, or if he was a patient in the past.  I am not sure if certain stipulations apply to different hospitals/Rehab centers, but would the center give my professor that information?  Thanks

Answer: Absolutely the professor can call.  The hospital will almost certainly refrain from giving out information about patients.  The professor can require proof from you, however.  This is better handled through the dean's office.Answer #2: We have student forge documentation to excuse absences or request late drops from time to time. I sometimes have to verify this information. I typically will request to speak to the person who prepared the document to ask if they prepared a document for so-and-so, or I will ask if I can send the document to them and have them verify its veracity. I've had 2 cases in the last year, where the document was a fake. The instructor likely has had some dubious excuses submitted to him before.


Title: Recovery meetings

Question: I have been forced to attend 3 recovery support meetings per week by an addictions doctor and enforced by my employer. I understand that they can make me go to meetings but they cannot make me attend AA. AA is religious and I am not. I don't mind going to Life ring meetings along with SMART but their availability in my area is not great. So I suffer through AA most of the time instead of drive 45 or an hour to attend non religious meetings. Thus I feel I am de facto forced to AA. Also I am in Canada so US precedent doesn't apply to me

Answer: Your employer can't force you to do anything. What they can (probably) do is legally fire you if you refuse.


Title: My Mother Got Backed Over By Company Truck (Union), Workers' Compensation Situation.

Question: She lives in the Bay Area. Company Truck backed over her, and the truck doesn't have a back-up alarm. She was directing traffic at  the time. It ran her over her knee and would've killed her if it wasn't for the driver hearing the loud scream and stop sign paddle hitting the floor. The truck had 8 sets of tires. The hit knocked her helmet about 5 meters away. It happened on the 5th this month. Today, she was requested to return to work, this time in a mine about an hour away from where she lives. She calls me saying how she's hurting along with a headache and she can't leave early or else she'd be fired. On Monday, she went to the doctor and may need a CAT scan and physical therapy for 6 sessions (ordered by the company's doctor). Her compensation is $500 every 2 weeks (not sure how long), and the issue is that her rent is $1700 and has a daughter. She's scared to sue the company and/or driver due to the retaliation of being fired or laid off in a week. What are her options and how should she go about this?

Answer:
 She needs to hire a workers' compensation attorney ASAP.
They work on contingency.  Her union should have people that can assist her in finding a reputable attorney. This is a  highly specific area of law and professional assistance from an experienced lawyer is typically  necessary.


Title: FMLA and maternity leave

Question: Hi, I'm trying to find solid information on FMLA and other legal protection for maternity leave in Cook County, Illinois. The short of it is that I seriously hate my job and want to leave, but my husband and I are also trying to start a family, and I'm scared to leave my job as I don't know what types of protections I would have at a new job if I gave birth after being employed less than a year. Thanks!

Answer: You will have no legal protection at a new job.


Title: Built a garage for some homeowners who don't want to pay now that the garage has been built.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Here's some information about [Oregon construction liens.](https://www.oregon.gov/CCB/Documents/pdf/information%20notice%20liens.pdf)  Looks like the timeline is pretty short.Answer #2: Doesn't help you now, but for future jobs put in a payment schedule based on completed progress: 10% down, 25% after foundation is completed, 25% after framing and electrical, 25% after drywall and painting, and 15% after final walkthrough. You'll find out a lot quicker if your clients are trying to stiff you, long before you're $50K into a job.Answer #3: I'm assuming you have a CCB license, insurance, bond, etc?  Because if not, your meeting with the CCB won't go well; Oregon really doesn't fuck around.

Why is your client refusing to pay? Was everything done by the book as far as licensing and permits go?

If so, lien.Answer #4: Holy shit man this makes me so goddamned angry to read.

I hope you get every cent from these people and then their garage burns down because it gets hit by lightning and it burns their cars up. Answer #5: An attorney may actually take a case like this but everyone is correct is saying the timelines are very short for construction liens.  Lawyer or not, you must act quickly.


Title: Rearended, but his insurance won't pay

Question:
While I was delivery driving valentine's day someone rear ended me, it was clearly his fault, he and the police agreed. I got all his info and called his insurance, but they said they wouldn't pay because he was at work while it happened. Now he's not responding to my phone calls or texts asking how he's going to pay for the damages to my car. I need to get it fixed so I can go back to work obviously, it's driveable but the police officer said I could get an infraction for driving it before I get the tail light fixed.

I'm thinking I should go get it fixed and then take him to small claims, but my roommate (who owns the car) thinks the court won't pay if I fix it. I would call his workplace and see if they'd pay but I don't know where the driver who hit me works.

I'd appericiate any advice on what I should do next so I can get back to work as soon as possible!
(written on mobile so sorry for any spelling errors!)

Answer: Yes. Fix it, keep good records, then sue the guy. Your roommate is a moron. Answer #2: Inform your insurance, and let them handle it. That is what you pay them for.


Title: FMLA discrimination and retaliation advice needed.

Question:
Edit: Work and live in Salt Lake County, Utah.

I work for a large corporation and was recently "reassigned" due to trumped up claims, outright lies and negative comments in performance reviews by my manager that all started shortly after being on FMLA leave.

More background. I am a salaried employee with a very cyclical, one week is busy (60-70 hours) next is very slow (lucky to fill 35 hours). One reason for my "reassignment" was specifically attendance. Being salaried I had use of a company laptop and on the busy week would do several hours of work from home.

The first critique for attendance came about two weeks after returning from FMLA leave following my sons birth. My son was struggling (diagnosed failure to thrive) as well as my wife (post par-tum depression) and I was working from home more then usual, while having to leave work for various Dr. appointments.

Before taking leave I had initially requested just over a week, I later went back and asked for an additional week and was told no. I had time to cover over 7 weeks.

When I was "reassigned" I asked directly (my bosses boss) what job responsibilities I had not fulfilled and was told of a couple vague, honest mistakes or system glitches - nothing specific. When pushed for specifics he said he would "get back to me" - a month later and nothing.

Reported all this to HR and the began an investigation, I was given no updates and was only told the investigation had been finished but no details on the outcome. I also reported to our internal standards line.

Spoke with a lawyer last night. He said it sounds like I have a constructive termination case (totally different job with no upward potential vs. one with huge advancement potential as well as a number of different factors) and most likely an FMLA case but was not able to take the case on a contingent basis.

I am hoping for a realistic idea of what to expect and possible next steps.

Is this something where I can reach out to our HR Legal/General counsel department and say "if this isn't corrected I will have no choice but to secure legal counsel" or is that a bad play?

Is this something an FMLA specific lawyer would normally do on a contingent basis? If worse comes to worse what would a payout look like? If the company comes back and says "here's $3,000 for your trouble" is that even reasonable?

Thanks

Answer: Was there some specific reason given why that lawyer was unwilling to take the case on a contingency basis?  Because your best bet is going to be to first spend a little more time finding a lawyer who is willing to take this on a contingency basis.


Title: Assisted suicide/euthanasia in California

Question:
My uncle is a quadriplegic since getting into a car accident May 2001. He is highly interested in some form of euthanasia, but his doctors always comment in a joking manner. From my limited understanding, the current laws require that the individual be able to administer the medication to himself. Of course, this is not possible as he has no movement below his neck. Are there any laws, even in other states, that help individuals like him. This is something that he has been pursuing for about 10 years but the doctors always feel like he's joking around and we are wondering if this is possible for him to do or what the laws state about people in his condition.

He will never be able to walk again, this was said clearly to him multiple times over the 17 years and he has tried different surgeries here and in other countries, to no avail.

Answer:
 The assisted suicide law in CA has been put on hold by a court for the moment for procedural reasons.

My understanding is that it only applied to people with terminal diseases, and two doctors have to attest they have less than 6 months to live.


Title: If a coworker takes company equipment from my office without consulting me does that constitute creating a hostile work environment?

Answer: Unless your co worker is stealing your stuff based on race, gender, disability or sexual orientation... No.


Title: California - Grandfather's dermatologist took a biopsy of a possible melanoma on his face. Instead of sending to a pathologist lab, claimed that he examined the sample himself and then performed an operation to remove the supposedly cancerous tumor.

Question:
I think he performed this surgery not out of necessity but rather to get money from medical insurance for performing the operation. He removed the tumor and then said there was no cancerous cells left. Can a dermatologist analyze a biopsy himself without a licensed pathologist's analysis and then peform the surgery?

This dermatologist works under a big medical corporation umbrella and I suspect that he is doing this to a lot of elderly patients for financial gain.

Answer:
 Many dermatologists do lab tests in house these days. More money in their pocket. Basically they do cost/benefit for having the lab in house then decide from there.

Nothing here sounds suspicious to me.


Title: Mounting a legal challenge to NYS Child Support Statutes

Question:
I am crossposting in both [r/legaladvice](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/) and [r/Divorce](https://www.reddit.com/r/Divorce/) \- but here it is. This is based in NY State, divorced, two kids. Other jurisdictions may be different. I am not a lawyer. The state statute on Child Support is [linked here](http://www.jdbar.com/Statutes/DRL-240/drl-240.html#1-b-Child-Support).

Going through the divorce process, I've learned that NY State disregards any notion of "joint custody" when it comes to Child Support - so no matter how much time you spend with your children, the higher earning spouse is required to pay child support to the lower earning spouse. There is no "offset" formula based on custody.

Parent A -- the parent earning (pre-tax) just $1 more than the other parent (Parent B) -- owes \~50% of the child support amount. Further, Parent A is responsible for \~50% of the "add-on" expenses for the children when the children are with Parent B, and is responsible for 100% of the "add-on" expenses for when the children with Parent A. No matter if Parent A has the children half the time (or whatever percentage of time).

It effectively means that as Parent A (the higher earner) you have no incentive to spend *any* time with your children, because there's no offset in your amount of support.

I believe that's a wrong outcome of things & a bad social policy. As a result, I would like to challenge the laws on this at the state level.

My question here is -- I believe I'm not the only one who has been in this situation, so has anyone else gone down this path / does anyone have advice / suggestions as to who (specific people) to get in touch with to mount a challenge on this topic?

\[To answer the obvious question: yes, I do have legal representation, however their approach is "we just apply the statute, if you think the law is incorrect you can challenge the statute" -- thus this post\]
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Why in God's name do you need an incentive to be with your children?   Or more correctly why does paying based on the current schedule act as a disincentive to see your children.  Why the hell would you resent or see them less.

&#x200B;

You have two kids

If you make 250K

Your wife makes 50K

You have 50% or joint custody.  However your wife has to pay rent or mortgage for the whole month not just the time the kids are with her.  Change the distribution means your kids are sharing a room in a shitty one bedroom apartment instead of possibly having there own bedrooms with the distribution as it is today..

&#x200B;

You have it horribly wrong.


Title: My friend crashed my car

Question:
Hey guys so i lend my friend my car and he crashed it. ok not necessarily crashed but he scratchedd a car. And hes not willing to pay for it. He gave the guy my number. The guy told called him and said a price set to pay for it or he'll just give in my plate numbers.

I didn't know tf i was doing and said its not my fault and my friend should pay for all of it. What should i do. my friend has no car insurance. And its not that much money Help... He already gave in my plate numbers. I am in the US.

Answer:
 >my friend has no car insurance.

Well, that's going to suck for him when the victim's car insurance claims against your car insurance and your car insurance sues your friend.Answer #2: you better have reported the issue to your insurance company or they may not be liable to pay or defend you.


Title: Employers collecting fines for "not good enough" work

Question:
I work at a small, family owned restaurant. The food is amazing and I love working there, but the owners tend to get really stressed out and freak out on the waitstaff if even one thing goes wrong. It's their first time running a restaurant and you can tell they really don't know what they're doing.
They recently created a penalty list for stuff not done. We have to pay a fine for doing stuff not up to their standards  like $1 for throwing away a fry basket, $5 for not taking out trash, etc. one of my main problems is that a lot of the items on this list are completely up to opinion-- they'll say something like "it wasn't swept good enough" and make the waitresses fork over whatever amount of cash they've decided in appropriate. They never send pictures of the issues, call us in to see what we did wrong, or tell us how to fix it for the future. They say the money goes to pay for the Christmas Party at the end of the year.
Is any of this legal? What should I do to combat the arbitrary and subjective rules and amounts?

Answer:
 Wow. None of this is legal. It isn't even close to being legal. Cal the Department of Labor and file a complaint.

http://dol.georgia.gov/

Or you can simply talk to the owners, but that isn't even close to being legal.Answer #2: The most ludicrous part is the fines going to pay for the Christmas party.  So the crappier a job you do, the nicer a party you'll all have.


Title: Driving 37 mph over the speed limit

Question: Im under 18 and was recently pulled over for driving a 92 in a 55 zone in the state of Ga. It is my first offense and I read online that I could get my license suspended because of this since im under 21? What is my best course of action to avoid this. I understand my action was reckless and I couldve injured someone, but i was very stressed at the time and wasnt thinking clearly. I really need to help in this situation because I cant afford to lose my license as I need it for school and work. Any advice ? Is there someway i can get a reduced fine ? What are my options ?

Answer: You’re really lucky GA has a “super speeder”  classification because in other states you’d be looking at a reckless driving charge. Get a lawyer, with that kind of speeding you’re going to get a fine at the very least and license suspension is very possible if you don’t lawyer up.


Title: [Lancaster County, NE] First Drug Test?

Question: Hi, I'm a chronic weed smoker and have to sign up for diversion this week. I used to smoke every day but have been cutting back and stopped a week ago. I know I'm going to have to take a urinalysis test but my question was what happens if I fail the first drug test? Is it a baseline test? Or will I be kicked out of the program?

Answer: So, to sum up, you knew you'd have to sign up for pre-trial diversion with drug tests but you only stopped smoking a week ago?


Title: Car "Stolen" Back from Tow Lot

Question:
Hey guys. A friend of mine had his car towed when it became stuck in mud/water on a dirt road. It was only towed after he called his Road Side Assistance and they sent a tow truck to pull it out and store it over night (submerged in water so it had to be checked out). However, after the tow truck left they called my friend back and said they wouldn't cover it for this and that reason, total scumbag move obviously.

My friend was fighting with them for days trying to get reimbursement, all while the storage fees accumulated at the tow lot. By this time the bill was $800 with no hope of the RSA coming through soon and he needs his car to deliver packages for his job, so he finally gave in and scraped together the $800 (borrowed and cleaned his bank account out, he's broke) they asked for.

This is where it gets ridiculous. When we arrived to pay it off, the tow people added an ADDITIONAL $400 to the bill that was never discussed, basically citing additional fees for the water or something. We were stunned. He needed the car for his job and now he couldn't get it back the "right" way...so we did what we thought was the only answer at the moment, we just drove it out of the lot with a spare key.

Is this a crime? Or is it a civil matter of simply paying the dues be it in court or otherwise?  We are in Florida.

Answer: Your friend can face civil and criminal consequences for this.


Title: [WA State] Neighbor trespassed, my dogs scratched her vehicle. She is threatening legal action. What do?

Question:
Hi r/legaladvice, first time poster. I never thought I would be here, but here I am!

I share a property with two units on it. The other tenant, Emma, and I are great friends. When I am at work, Emma will occasionally let out my dogs, who are kenneled indoors when I am absent. She will take them to potty and hang out with them in her house or on the property. The dogs love Emma and have the same respect for her and her boyfriend as they do me and my boyfriend.

Yesterday, she took them potty, and walked with them around the yard. The other properties in the area are all separated by sparsely forested area.

Our neighbor, Becky, whom I have never met, saw them from her house, and was angry. She perceived them to be on "her property".

The property lines are not clearly marked, but Emma assured me they were nowhere near Becky's home, barely on the fringe of the forest that surrounds our property.

Becky, enraged, drove over to our property in her truck. May I add we have a no trespassing sign posted in our driveway. She had her own dog in the vehicle. Emma did not know at this time that Becky was upset, or that she was driving over, otherwise she would have kenneled the dogs or tied them down to the anchors we have installed in the yard.

When Becky pulled up, she was screaming obscenities at Emma from her truck, telling her she was going to sue, etc. Emma says the dogs jumped twice at Becky's truck before she managed to call them to her and regain control of them.

Becky drove off. Emma called our real estate agency and explained the situation. We were assured that the situation was handled and we were not at fault.

Today I received an email from said agency with pictures of scratches on a truck and an estimate of ~250 USD to fix the damages. The email was worded in such a way to frame the situation as this: my dogs escaped the property unsupervised, went on to Becky's property, damaged her vehicle there, and then CHASED HER DOWN.

I sent a polite but firm email establishing the real series of events. I explained that the animals did not escape the property, that they are kenneled when not supervised, and that they were supervised the entire time they were outside with Emma. I explained that the truck was not damaged until it was on our property. Emma also called the agent and expressed her frustration that Emma's words were twisted/disregarded/whatever and voiced her full support for me. Unfortunately the agent did not respond to her call so she had to leave a voicemail.

I want to know if Becky does have legal ground to sue me. I feel that she entered my property without any warning or permission, when we clearly have a no trespassing sign posted. I also feel that Becky massively omitted and changed details about the situation. On top of that, I feel that it is unreasonable to expect any animal to respond well to someone entering their territory and acting hostile towards a member of their pack.

Does she have any legal ground to stand on?

Thanks for your help, Reddit.

Answer:
 She can thump her chest all she wants, and yeah, she could sue...the question is would she win?

Send a certified letter to her house w/ return receipt stating that "on said date at approximate time, (Becky) trespassed and showed up uninvited onto your property, for which the dogs responded to an unfamiliar vehicle with an unfamiliar person. Any alleged damage incurred was not the fault of our animals, who were constantly supervised at the time of her trespass. I deny any damage took place around said place at said time, and any further trespass onto my property will result in a report to the proper authorities (jurisidiction of cops here)" ...something to that effect.

If she serves you with a Complaint, that's when you'll need to worry about a lawyer. otherwise, next time she does that, just call the police.Answer #2: What county are you in? Are you in city limits somewhere?

Its possible you aren't allowed to have your dogs out running free off leash and without a fence.

That might affect things.


Title: Called a small business owner out on being racist, and mentioned their business. Now they're threaten a slander lawsuit.

Question:
(USA, MO)

Today a person i know made a public FB post they talked about a certain race and how they should all be deported on a boat back to their country.

I made a public FB post on facebook about a person and it said that you shouldn't frequent their business if youd rather not support a racist.

This person threatened a slander lawsuit, if i didnt remove the post. The person claimed bullying. And their father owns a law firm.

Do they even have a leg to stand on? Everything on facebook they posted was public, and they were unapologetically racist. I'm trying to be cautious.

Answer: Ignore them unless they file a lawsuit, which is unlikely. If they file a lawsuit, don't ignore that.


Title: Traffic court for minor offense -- but the victim hates my guts

Question:
(New Jersey) A few months ago I ran a stop sign in a quiet neighborhood and a car hit me because he had the right of way. It was very minor and at a slow speed, my car got a small dent, no damages to the other car. But the other guy was with his wife and baby and was furious. He made sure I was written up by an officer.

On my original court date, my lawyer went without me because I had a prior commitment, and apparently the victim showed up and spoke to the prosecutor and was raging with anger, according to my lawyer. He wants me labeled as an unsafe driver. The case was adjourned and now I have to show up in person.

This is my first ever offense on a squeaky clean record. It was an honest mistake but clearly the victim's emotions are in the way because his baby was present. My lawyer is reassuring me that he can reduce the charges but how much influence does the victim have over the outcome? Also any advice on dealing with someone like that who absolutely hates me?
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: You have a lawyer, ask that lawyer.  No one here can advise you better than them.


Title: Las Vegas, NV - Workplace playing music as a force of punishment

Question:
I work in an It center and during this time we are to pitch an app for the customer can reach us back. Our entire building which is 6 stories tall has a 30 second clip of Mmm Bop by Hansen playing in the lunch and break rooms until we get above a certain number and then they will kill the music.

The music plays on every floor except in areas where we speak to customers. The security guards hear it during their entire shift as they are right next to the televisions playing them.

Is this legal or is this considered a form of torture

Edit: Hey thanks for the replies everyone, looks like I'll be MMM' bopping for awhile now.

Answer:
 Oh come on. This is legal. Deal with it.

If you think *that* is torture, whew boy.


Title: My sister is a prostitute, would that effect my background check?

Question:
Hi! My sister is a prostitute (in Alabama where I think it's illegal). She's been arrested on suspicion of prostitution but never tried or conflicted. She currently in the throws of a custody ordeal surrounding her daughter as well. I'm curious if this would effect a background check done on me.

I'm applying for an apartment in DC and I really hope her situation doesn't fuck me over.
Thanks so much!

Answer:
 Applying for an apartment?  No.

Applying for a security clearance?  Maybe.Answer #2: Only under very limited circumstances:

[https://www.state.gov/m/ds/clearances/c10977.htm#12](https://www.state.gov/m/ds/clearances/c10977.htm#12)

>There are circumstances in which limited records checks or an investigation may be conducted on a spouse or cohabitant\* of an individual being processed for a Top Secret level clearance, with the spouse or cohabitant's authorization. Additional investigations may be conducted when the spouse or cohabitant is a foreign national.
>
>\*Cohabitation is defined as sharing a living unit, such as a house or apartment, on a frequent and regular basis, while employed by the Department, without regard to the nature of any interpersonal relationship or reason for sharing living quarters. This includes, but is not limited to, minor children, roommates, foreign exchange students, and members of household.

If she is living in the same home, and you are applying for a Top Secret level clearance.

For the vast vast majority of background checks, it shouldn't be an issue.Answer #3: As someone who runs police background checks on a regular basis: nope. Background checks are usually limited to any criminal contact the individual in question has had with the law, and I'm assuming an apartment complex  won't be running anything higher level than a local or MAYBE state one.


Title: (FL) Someone was catfished by someone using my photos now the victim wants to sue me for "letting it happen".

Question:
A guy got catfished by someone using my pictures from Facebook,Instagram etc. I guess he got suspicious and did a reverse search on the pictures and found out what was happening.

He found my information and contacted me. He's blaming me for what happened and is threatening to sue me.

Do I have any liability for what someone else did with pictures of me?

Answer:
 This person is just mad and threatening to sue you because they got fooled.

I would not worry about it.  If you are served with a lawsuit, you respond.Answer #2: You have no liability. If you get sued, make sure you show up to avoid a default judgement and gain the pleasure of watching a judge laugh a moron out of court. Answer #3: >Do I have any liability for what someone else did with pictures of me?

No.  Answer #4: Maybe he's suing you to actually meet you.... CreeepyyyyyyyAnswer #5: Only in Florida. You have nothing to worry about.Answer #6: Unless you were part of the plan you have little to worry about. then depending on what the plan was you may have something to worry about.

If you do happen to get sued , you must answer the summons. Answer #7: You're a victim in this too, your identity is being stolen and used falsely (even if its just your image).  So unless you're being paid by the guy who catfished him, you're in the clear.


Title: Accidentally didn't scan two items at self check-out

Question: Hi everyone, I used the self checkout at Target tonight and when I got home and looked over my receipt I realized I accidentally never scanned a drink and chips that probably totaled about $5. They have cameras at every register  and I’m worried I’m going to get arrested or something. Hopefully I’m overreacting but I read some horror stories about similar situations here. Any advice on what to do?

Answer:
 Don't "go back to explain it." Target's loss prevention is more aggressive than some other large retailers.

Pick a non profit Target [supports](https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/community-impact) and donate the $5. Keep a receipt of the donation. In the unlikely event you're ever approached by investigators, tell them you won't answer any questions without an attorney present. Answer #2: I wouldn’t even worry about it if I were you. Target isn’t going to hunt you down for 5 dollars.

Pro tip: from what I know, which probably isn’t enough to be trusted, those cameras are only looked at if some shit goes down like grand theft or something.


Title: Got scammed off of Offerup

Question:
So I recently bought a Macbook Pro off of Offerup. The seller was a mom selling the laptop upon request of her son, or so she told me. She told me her son lost the charger and so the laptop was completely out of battery was still working. After I explicitly asked if there was a password she assured me there was none, but as you can guess there definitely were when I powered it on.

Now I made a fake account and requested to buy one of her items to meet her again. At this point, can I call the police when we meet? I'm going to meet her again so what are my options?

Answer:
 You need to report this to the police first and then follow their instructions on how to proceed, since you're not batman.

This may be a civil matter, or the computer may be stolen.


Title: Moving into new apartments and one of my room mates can't be on the lease because she's on another lease with her ex boyfriend for a couple more months.

Question: I'm going to be moving into new apartments in two days, and we're going to have 3 tenants on the lease including myself; however, we have a fourth room mate that is still on a lease with her ex boyfriend (who happens to be living in the same apartment complex) for the next two months. She moved out of her ex's several months ago and never left the lease, and he's been paying rent for their apartment by himself. Our lease specifically states "no subleasing". How do we go about getting her off of her ex's lease, and putting her on ours, since said ex doesn't make enough to be on his lease by himself?

Answer: You can be on two leases.


Title: Slow lawyer - what to do, is this normal?

Question:
Hi all, I'm using a lawyer to make a money demand from a person. I gave her everything that she requested me to submit, and she says that all she needs to do is listen to one recording of a conversation, and it's about an hour long.

It's been months since I sent her that, and I don't know what's going on. She's the first paid lawyer I've used, and I've used free ones in the past, due to my income level, and they were so fast and so on top of everything.

This woman is dragging. I last contacted her maybe a month ago, sending new evidence and she said she'd contact me the following week, which is now 3 weeks ago, saying that she was in the middle of a deposition.

Is this normal and is she just busy, or is this a bad sign? Should I get a new lawyer? I signed a bunch of stuff but she never got me copies of that paperwork like she promised. She came recommended but I'm getting skeptical.

What should I do?

Thanks

Answer: Lawyers are slow because they are busy, but not THAT slow usually... she should have gotten you copies of the signed paperwork within that week. Can you go in in person? So that she can't avoid you... and tell her you'd like to see progress.


Title: [MN] Missed deadline to add husband to health insurance after wedding

Question:
So, I was an idiot and missed the 30 day deadline after the wedding to add my husband to my health insurance.  I just submitted an appeal and am waiting for the results, but am wondering what my options are if I am denied. He currently has federal health insurance, but it is not nearly as good as my health insurance since I work at a university. I also just found out yesterday he has no dental insurance.... Yikes. Especially since he drinks nothing but Mountain Dew Throwback. I am currently on my parents' dental insurance, but it'll be 1.5 years until I turn 26, so waiting for loss of coverage is not an option. (He's older and can't use his parents' dental insurance.) I could get this for us through my work, but again, I missed the deadline.

If I wait until open enrollment, he won't be covered until January 1st of 2016. This is a much longer wait than I am comfortable with.

Is it totally insane to "divorce" and instantly remarry the same person just to allow him to apply for my insurance? How bad does that mess things up? We haven't combined finances or other insurances yet, so we don't have to untangle any of that. There will be some fines with the state, but I can't imagine it costing more than a major dental emergency, or even the difference between our health insurances if something bad happened to him. Sorry this is so weird, any helpful thoughts are appreciated.

Answer:
 >If I wait until open enrollment, he won't be covered until January 1st of 2016. This is a much longer wait than I am comfortable with.

That's really not that long, especially if he already has some form of insurance.

>Is it totally insane to "divorce" and instantly remarry the same person just to allow him to apply for my insurance?

Yes.  You'd have to pay the filing fee of around $400.  And it would probably wouldn't save you much time anyway, as even an uncontested divorce can take several months to finalize.


Title: Is it illegal to pay your parent a monthly salary, write them a 1099 and income taxes on it but having them gift it back to you?

Question:
Hear me out please before making a judgement call.

To make a very long story short for to a mix of misinformed decisions and straight up bad luck in the 2008 recession, my father lost his house and had to declare bankruptcy in 2008. Since then he's paid rent of 1600-2000 in various houses and if course that money just disappears rather than pay for a house he ends up owning.

Now that the bankruptcy is off the credit report, he is trying to purchase a home once again instead of continuing to rent, and hoping to get a lower mortgage payment than he does in rent.  However he has two main issues in getting a mortgage which is two or three old bills in his credit that he couldn't pay when was in a bad spot during the recession, and not having enough income. Realtors and agents he's spoken to have told him that without a higher income he will not get approved for a mortgage. However my father has been able to pay rent of up to 2000 a month every month for 10 years. He would have absolutely no issue paying his mortgage ok his current income. He currently makes about 45k a year.

People have recommended that I could either cosign ( I'm not willing to do that) or straight up but a house in my name and rent it to him for the cost of the monthly mortgage. However I'm not very ready to do that just because I don't want a mortgage on my credit report right now in case I need to buy my own house or need other credit.

So I had the idea to pay my father a salary. Every month I send him a check of say $1500 for payment of services such as consulting. I pay him as an independent contractor so there's no withholding necessary. At the end of the year I send him and the IRS a 1099 and he of course parts all the required taxes for the income he made. I want to reiterate we would not attempt to evade taxes or claim tax credits, we would file reporting all the money I pay him.

Then he gifts me or my wife back the money each month or the end of the year as a gift to me, since it's technically his money now. I think I would need to report the gift on my taxes as well and pay income tax on them which I am willing to do.

However his 1040 AGI would now reflect a much higher income which would help him when applying for a loan.

I'm sure some people may think this is shady or unethical, which IMO is irrelevant. Question is whether doing this would break any Federal law.

If not, aside from paying income tax on this money twice, would there be any consent to giving him a hand like this? My father's about to turn 65 and it sucks to see him getting charged outrageous rent that rises every single day when he could easily pay a mortgage of the same or less amount of a bank would just give him a second chance and look past his income.

Answer:
 This is essentially money laundering for the purposes of committing mortgage fraud.  A far worse idea then buying the property yourself and becoming a landlord...Answer #2: That would be fraud. Don’t do that.

Also for 1099 they usually require at least 2 years of consistent income to count for a mortgage.


Title: Landlords dogs eat my packages

Question:
EDIT: I'm in New Hampshire

I live upstairs from the landlord. Our mailboxes are all on the front porch, though we never use the front entrance. The landlord has 4 dogs (2 ankle biters and 2 rottweilers) that spend most of the day on the porch. I've been here 3 years, I am nearly certain they have never been taken for a walk. They shit and piss all over the porch, and bark constantly. It's annoying and disgusting. When the shit piles up too high, they simply sweep it onto the front yard. The front of our building looks so gross and smells like dog shit. The barking is ridiculous. When one starts, they all go off and howl for sometimes 10 minutes straight. They're aggressive and I have two young children. One of the dogs bit a person walking by last summer (their fault, they came up and reached onto the porch to pet unfamiliar dogs...), so I don't like the kids being near the dogs. Needless to say, I avoid that front porch like the plague.

However, I can't avoid it completely due to the mail. When I order anything that doesn't fit in the mailbox, the mailman leaves the packages on the porch. The dogs have shredded multiple deliveries. The last time was something valuable and I asked the landlord to replace the item. He did replace it, but now he has started taking my packages into his apartment, forcing me to track him down to get my mail. I also don't like him bringing my mail into his home. It's an inconvenience and invasion of privacy, and I don't believe he has the right to do this.

I've tried calling the post office to have them deliver to the side entrance, but since that entrance faces a street other than the legal address (we're on the corner of two streets) they refuse to deliver to that entrance. I do not want to have all of my packages held at the post office to be picked up. If I'm paying for delivery, I damn well want it delivered. I believe the landlord should be controlling his animals and should not touch my mail.

What do I do?

Answer: I have my packages shipped to my work address.


Title: Required to show up to work ten to fifteen minutes early? (Texas)

Question: I work as a service desk analyst that is paid hourly. My employer requires that we show up ten to fifteen minutes early to login to the computers so we can be ready to help customers when our shift starts? Is this legal? I am pretty sure it isn't, but I am not sure. Thank you. Could I report the company to a government agency?

Answer: You can file a [wage claim](http://www.twc.state.tx.us/jobseekers/how-submit-wage-claim-under-texas-payday-law). Keep track of all the time you are working but not paid.


Title: Starting an Arcade with Self-Built Machines?

Question:
Location: Linn County, Oregon.

Overview: I'm looking to find out if it is legal to have an arcade that all the machines are self-built.

The Objective: Save time and money when starting a bar/arcade business idea of mine.

The Logic: An example is the best way to explain why this is a good idea... Instead of buying the Pac-Man Arcade Cabinet from the 80's for $3,000. I could personally build an exact replica, for about $200 - $400. (Doesn't have to be an exact replica obviously)
Other than the cost difference to make the machines I can also manage all repairs myself as all machines are self-built and likely/hopefully won't need as much maintenance as they are brand new.

The Legality in Question: Is is legal for me to profit from people playing games(IE. Someone else's property) on machines that I made? If not, how can I go about it in a legal format? If so, to what limit? This is where I need more information.

An Answer?: In an attempt to bypass the questionable legality of having home-brewed machines is to bypass the usual concept of "Pay for Play" machines, IE You insert 25 cents and you get to play the game.
The best answer I have for this is the concept of a cover charge being the primary means of profit. Simply put, I would build the machines to not even have a coin slot, as I would have all the machines be free to play, but would charge a cover ($5-10, etc.) at the door. Can this work as you aren't directly paying to play the games but that you are paying to enter the building? Critiques welcome.

Another method?: Another idea I had that could help bypass this question is the idea that I could own the game but not the cabinet? The concept being that I run the game as a form of a "Backup" of the physical copy I have for a game system
Example: I own a copy of Pac-Man for the SNES. I back it up to play digitally on my machine and just keep the physical copy of the game on site. Therefore I own the property and play it. This will have a higher cost of course but $12 to order the cartridge vs $3000 for the cabinet... you get it. The concern I have with this one is the idea that I would have to buy the arcade cabinet version of the game, but I suppose that would be pointless as I might as well just set it up. Feedback?

That's the idea of all of this. Sorry if the formatting is messy, I am running this question as a kind of stream of consciousness thing. I am grateful for any assistance you can offer!

Answer:
 >  Is is legal for me to profit from people playing games(IE. Someone else's property) on machines that I made?

No, that's a copyright violation.  You need to license the games, or make games of your own.


Title: Ownership of one's baby teeth?

Question:
So, I want to make a necklace out of a couple of my baby teeth (would rather my wisdoms, but they're growing in properly so I won't be getting my hands on them) and while talking to my mom who has them somewhere in the attic I claimed that they were my teeth as they had come from my mouth. She said that because I gave to the tooth fairy they were hers. and because I'm the type of person who likes obscure things and technicalities I figured I would be the owner.
I have two reasons on why the teeth legaly belong to me.
1. I was a minor who entered a 'verbal' contract with the tooth fairy under the understanding that she was a tiny humanoid who built a castle from children's teeth and paid good money for those bricks. However, while I did take the money being a minor any contracts I made would be void and therefore the teeth come back to my possession.
2. I made a verbal contract with the tooth fairy, a promised mythical creature, not my mother as my understanding as a six year old followed that everything on tv and movies were broadcast live logic my mother taking possession of the teeth and not handing them over to the tooth fairy regardless of her being real was a breach of contract, again voiding it and putting ownership back to me.
Are either of these correct? Is there actually something similar to this? Who the world's baby teeth? I live in Ontario, Canada. This doesn't really matter, she'll give me them anyway, I'm just really curious.

Answer:
 Counterpoint: as a 6 year old, you didn't legally own anything, what you had was property of your parents, hence your teeth became property of your mother when they fell out.

Second counterpoint with maritime law because why not: baby teeth are jetsam and not flotsam, therefore claimed by the discoverer for salvage. By voluntarily abandoning your teeth, you lost your claim to them and any finder can collect the proceed of their sale. In other words, finders keepers, and your mom found them (under your pillow, presumably).


Title: Company exit clearance is not completed

Question:
The night before my last day, I received a clearance form that has to be signed by several people before I leave the next day. My manager in charge and reporting officer were not in the office on my last day. My manager asked me to just leave the company's equipment with my colleague as it will take about 3 days to process the return and leave the form on his table for him to sign. I did as told, so I did not manage to get the signature from my reporting officer and the person in charge of the company's assets.

That was a week ago. Today, I received an email asking me to go back and complete the form by today. May I know if I'm legally required to go back? I'm on bad terms with my reporting officer, so I do not want to do it if I'm not legally required to.

Also, I was told to use my own personal computer to do work related stuff only on my first day of work. Is the reporting officer legally allowed to search my personal computer to ensure that work related stuff are deleted from my computer?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Any of this related to government classified work? If not, I'd ignore. You have no obligation to go back and finish paperwork.


Title: Can prenuptial agreements be made after getting married?

Question: For amicable reasons-as a safeguard against a messy divorce. (USA)

Answer:
 Prenuptial means "before marriage," so what you are asking about is a post-nuptial agreement.

They can be enforceable, but it will depend on the terms and surrounding circumstances. You cannot waive asking one party for child support, for example, and assigning custody is also unlikely to be binding. Things like division of assets and spousal support payments can generally be pre-determined through a postnuptial agreement, though.

Both parties should have their own attorneys negotiate any agreements and review any documents prior to the parties signing.


Title: (Victoria, Aus) Mum to be, landlord ending lease 6 days prior to due date with no reason

Question:
When I found out I was pregnant and my due date I contacted my real estate agent ASAP to ask if we can renew the lease as it expires 6 days prior to my due date.
I was met with no response after five emailed attempts and now at five months, I finally get a no. I asked why, the agent said the landlord didn’t provide any reason.

Legally I know they have to provide a reason for eviction, however I feel as though it’s because we’ve cost them too much money (three water leaks, electricity outages twice etc). Or they don’t want a baby in the house. As this has not been officially documented can I pursue this further? Or do I have to wait until the notice is received.

I can not afford to lease break.

I’m so fucking devastated that I can’t even get started on my sons nursery.

Do both parties have to agree to end the lease, due to the circumstances could I pursue further action with VCAT to see if I can move without paying the lease break fees or even better - extend the lease?

There’s no physical way I can move house at 39 weeks. I hate being a renter so much.

Answer:
 It doesn't sound like you're being evicted. The landlord has simply decided not to renew your lease.

> Do both parties have to agree to end the lease?

I expect both parties would need to agree to *break* a lease. But if the lease is reaching it's contractual end date, then either party can choose not to renew.

> Due to the circumstances could I pursue further action with VCAT to see if I can move without paying the lease break fees or even better - extend the lease?

I don't see on what grounds could you pursue action? The landlord is not obliged to extend your lease, just as you are not obliged to accept an extension if they were to offer one.

Sorry. Not a good situation. All that really matters is that you and the baby are healthy. Good luck.Answer #2: You aren't breaking your lease nor are you being evicted; your lease ends when it ends and your landlord isn't obligated to renew it. The timing is awful but legal.


Title: I was renting a converted garage/given 3 days notice to stop living in the garage.

Question:
Santa Barbara Ca

I have lived in a converted garage for about a year and a half thinking it was legal and all good.

It has a separate entrance and a built window indicating its legal for rental (at least to me)

Given 3 days notice by management/owners to "remove all occupants and items from garage and immediatley restore the premises back to original form or face legal action" due to "they never gave prior written consent to live in the garage" even though previous property manager absolutely knew about it, and every apartment in the 4 apartment complex did this

Due to short notice and low funds/ I couldn't afford storage and had to get rid of a lot of my large things bed/couch/tv etc/ also lost half my months rent because 3 days notice came on 15th

garage is detached from a two bedroom apartment, which they were paying lower rent due to my living in their garage

legal information person said i could possibly get a percentage back on all the months i paid rent due to the owners profiting from an illegal rental situation, whether they knew about it or not

i cant find whether or not it was illegal to live in the garage, if it was zoned, etc resources?

never received a copy of my lease -  landlord wont give me a copy

looking for damages, going to go through mediation first, then small claims I was thinking.

Thoughts??? Thank you very much I really appreciate any help.

Answer:
 http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/terminations.shtml

There is a specific part about 3-day notices to vacate. Unless you have committed one of those offenses, print it up, show it to your landlord and tell him to pound sand. You need 30-60 day notice, in writing. This does not mean email, this does not mean text.

This honestly sounds like an illegal eviction if you were compliant with the law.Answer #2: Contact a local tenant help organisation. They exist for this kind of stuff. Your first step will be identifying who is at fault here. Like if the room was illegal then in some cases it is illegal to charge you rent and you would be due it all back. The tenants of the apartment may be at fault for illegally subletting to you, in which case you and the owner may be able to go after them. Basically this sounds like a mess but you do have damages therefore you just need to talk to either a "tenant help agent" or a lawyer to find out who you sue and for what.Answer #3: In CA, if it wasn't a legal rental, and it very likely wasn't, you are entitled to every penny you paid in rent returned to you.


Title: am i able to move out once i turn 18 while still enrolled in high school?

Question:
hello! these past few months i’ve been planning to move out of my parents home in georgia and into my grandmothers home in california. i recently told my (lawyer) father and while he and my mother already had a feeling i would bring this up, he ultimately told me i legally can’t because i’m still in high school and that me being 18 only allows me to have a say in the matter.

i’m homeschooled, and this is my last year. i will be moving from georgia to california, and i have talked this all the way through with my grandmother and she is okay with it. i didn’t refute his argument at the time because he’s the law graduate and i am not, but from what i’ve looked into, he’s wrong? i’m fairly sure of it, but i would like some confirmation from people on his level before i talk to both my parents again about this.

i understand why he would be hesitant about my schooling once i leave because a part of homeschool is him checking my work is done and tutor me when needed, but i do it all online with real teachers that can professionally help me and check my work. for the past year and a half i have consistently worked on it, and have made up for the slacking off i did for my first couple years of homeschool. and another question i should probably ask would be that does my school also have a say in this? would they refuse me as a student because i don’t have a (what they call) learning coach? again, this is all online. everything is done long distance except standardized tests, which i know can still be done in california.

my aunt, who is a teacher in georgia and actively teaches in my county, hasn’t brought up the fact that i wouldn’t allowed to move, which gives me more reason to not trust what he says about this matter. i can give more information if this isn’t enough because i’m not really sure how to do this, but to boil it down, all i’m really asking is if i could still do this, even without their permission. oh, and would they be able to stop me?

i really hope someone could help me out because my (planned) move out date is in about a month and if this falls through, i would have to let my grandmother know before she starts making changes. thank you for your time and generosity!! :)
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer: You're 18, an adult, you can do whatever you want.


Title: Manager not tipping me out until I pass a "test" (California)

Question: I started working for a brand new restaurant under the basis of minimum wage + tip as a server. They told us during training we need to pass a test before we receive tip. Also the managers transferred over servers from their other location to train us. I was sick during one of the training days which happened to be the testing day. I asked the assistant manager when I could take the test, and her response was to ask the district manager who is rarely there. It has been 3 weeks since and I still haven't been receiving any tip working 5-6 days a week while the trainers he brought in have been splitting the pooled tip. Also the district manager I have emailed twice but has not responded to me but I know for sure has read my emails. I confronted him about the test yesterday and he told me to wait so I can take it that day. I waited about 20 minutes and he said he didn't have the test papers on him and he would test me when he sees me next. I am also not the only one in this situation after speaking with other new hires. Is there any action I can take or is this legal to do?  Thank you for reading!

Answer: It's illegal to withhold tips from a tipped server. Escalate the issue with your manager and if they don't comply report them to the US Department of Labor.


Title: [MA] Received copyright infringement notice on my Comcast account, but haven't downloaded anything. Should I respond?

Question:
I don't often check my comcast e-mail account but do from time to time in case I miss any fine print/service changes. I checked the other night and saw something like 6 copyright infringement notices had been sent for downloading TV shows.

I googled around and saw that these are frequently sent as a result of pirating. I took the precaution of changing my wifi password (which was something that was really easy to guess, and I live near lots of other people).

Is there anything I should do at this point? Communicate with the ISP or whoever the person who contacted the ISP was?  Or should I just monitor for any other unexpected/unauthorized activity and do nothing?

Thanks.

Answer:
 Secure your wifi and make sure other members of your household aren't downloading anything you would care about.

Do not contact Comcast, do not respond.  They send out hundreds of these things probably on a daily basis.  Answer #2: If you have secured your wifi and are not infringing I wouldn't do anything


Title: If I'm 19, and I signed an NDA while drunk (where I was drinking voluntarily), what steps would I take to get it thrown out without implicating myself for underage drinking?

Answer: There is no magic solution by which you can claim that you were intoxicated without claiming that you were intoxicated.


Title: Bought a car from a private seller, turned out to have with a blown head gasket temporarily sealed. 9 months later it blew. Do I have any legal recourse?

Question:
In total, lost about $5,000 on this car.  Bought it for $3,600.  It was a 2006, bought it from a lady who is a friend of a friend, and I was never told about any engine issue.  Drove it for about 9 months, then it started overheating and eventually the overflow tank almost exploded.

Multiple mechanics confirmed a leak in the head gasket.  So I called the lady's mechanic, turns out he but a temporary block sealer in the radiator a few weeks before she sold it to me.  Can I recoup any money from her?  What steps should I take if I were attempt to?

Answer: You bought a 11 year old car almost a year ago and it lasted 9 months without issue. I highly doubt you have any recourse at this point.


Title: [Ontario, Canada] Getting screwed at work and going on EI

Question:
tl;dr My boss does not let me mark all my hour, Can I go on EI?

I've been at this current job for now 2 years, since the start my boss who is the owner of the business has not let mark all my hours and is becoming increasingly more difficult to work with. (If it matters, yesterday 04/04/18 screamed at me and threw and broke a tile while yelling at me because he did not agree with the answer i gave him.) I am forced to mark the time we "finish" when he determines on the job site. Meaning if there's a forty minute or an hour drive i am not paid. Also I have to mark my hours by half hour, if its 4:13 I have to "lose this time and mark up next time" which usually turns out to be a majority of the time I lose.

For me to go to my job I drive 20 mins to another city then we leave from his house which is also his 'shop' and where the business side of things takes place. He knows I'm having a tough financial time because my car is on its last legs and seems to be exploiting it. I currently have an open EI claim from febuary when he went on vacation also.

Can I quit and go on EI till I find a new job or get involved in the training they offer or are there any government offered assistance to keep me on my feet and bills paid till I find work?
Topic:
Canada

Answer: Well once you report your boss to the CRA for the MASSIVELY OBVIOUS FRAUD, you probably won't have a place to work anyway, so yes I would take the EI and look for another job that's not ripping you off


Title: What exactly constitutes marriage fraud?

Question:
A quick Google search defines fake marriage as one entered "into purely for the purpose of gaining a benefit or other advantage arising from that status." However, this does not describe my situation at all and I'm wondering where I fall in terms of legality where I to proceed and get married.

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My story is as follows. I met a girl while in college close to two years ago, we became friends shortly after and we began dating within a few months. The relationship has been amazing for the both of us. We are very happy with where we are and do talk about marriage very often because we can truly picture ourselves spending the rest of our lives with each other. However, while I have been living in the U.S. under a Visa for the past 10 years, I am still not a permanent resident/ citizen. My girlfriend has recently proposed that we get married because, while we aren't necessarily ready to live together and share bills (because we are both still in college and it would be too expensive to stop depending on our parents), it would make my life a lot easier since I would not have to worry about my future livelihood, the jobs I will be looking into, graduate programs and scholarships are much more accessible to people with permanent residency/citizenship, and because of this it would also allow us to have a better married life since I will be able to get into better school programs and have better job opportunities.

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TL;DR

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In no way is this hypothetical marriage purely for the purpose of benefitting myself, however, I do admit that were it not for my current circumstances "rushing" me/us to get married, we would wait longer. My question is: would getting married under the above premises constitute marriage fraud?

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Thanks in advance for any criticism or advice.

Answer:
 Marriage does not automatically grant citizenship.

While what you're describing isn't fraudulent, it also isn't likely to change your status. "We're married, but we don't live together, or share any bills." is not going to impress anyone handling your application. They want really solid evidence that you two have a life together in the US, *and* that you are financially stable and can support yourselves.


Title: Am I obligated to pay?

Question: Sold my car to my dad  a few months ago. Never got title switched over so it's still in my name. He and a friend made a deal to switch the car for her truck. He paid her extra because they agreed the truck was worth more. Kept insurance on the car in my name in case anything happened and added truck to insurance policy too because she didn't have any. He paid and got title to truck but she, never  bothered to get insurance or file for title. She totaled car and now there's insurance check on the way. Am I obligated to give her any of it?

Answer: You sold the car and were too goddam lazy to even do the title paperwork or even inform your insurance. No, you don’t get to keep the money for a vehicle that is no longer in your possession: this is called insurance fraud, and sounds like you’ve been engaging in quite a bit of it.


Title: (Nyc) navient sent me a check for $1700. what should I do?

Question:
Is the federal govt lawsuit going to affect this. If I cash this check will I forfeit my rights?

In your opinion, I am aware this may be 5+ years away, what do you think will happen with this court case and navient.

Answer:
 >In your opinion, I am aware this may be 5+ years away, what do you think will happen with this court case and navient.

The Trump admin will drop the suit in about 4 days. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.


Title: (Theory) could I sue my roommates for kicking me out during a pandemic?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 If your roommates are on the lease and you aren't, then for most purposes you are subletting from them. In the absence of an agreed-upon term, you're a tenant at will. You have some rights, but not many - and no right to prevent your landlords (your roommates) from ending your tenancy with notice.

You are owed thirty days' notice, ideally in writing, and in the absence of that notice your tenancy isn't ending unless you also agree to end it. Your recourse, right now, would be to insist on notice, and to refuse to leave until you get it. As you are willing to leave, that's even better - mutual agreement is much tidier than conflict, in most cases.


Title: Phlebotomist struck my nerve while donating blood.

Question: Almost 4 weeks ago, I donated blood and the phlebotomist drawing me nicked my nerve. Immediately after donating, I was experiencing sharp pains shooting up my right arm from my thumb to my shoulder. I called my local hospital that performed the draw and explained my situation. They sent me to the ER where I was given a referral for a neurologist. The soonest available appointment is in 2 weeks. The pain has lessened and become less frequent, but I was informed the pain may never completely subside. The hospital promises they are covering all expenses but I'm still worried. Should I seek legal advice?

Answer:
 I normally just lerk and do not post. I do have some knowledge on this topic. I have stuck more people than I can even imagine.

 If you donated blood I'm am certain that you were informed of the risks associated with the blood draw procedure. Hitting a nerve is fairly common. I personally have done it before. In every case that I have seen there will be ether localized pain or shooting pain down the arm the time that it takes for the pain to go away varies from a few hours to a few weeks.

If your symptoms are improving I personally would wait a bit. I am not a lawyer by any means so ill just stick to what I know. Answer #2: Informed by who, WebMD? If the pain truly does not subside after treatment, then you can consider further action. Until then, you have no damages.