Title: I was passed over for a promotion (someone else got it) due to my race. Have an email from the manager and supervisor to prove it.

Question:
For the last year I have been doing a 'better' job, with more responsibility and a 'higher' title while still being paid the salary from my 'lower' job. I didn't mind because it's my dream job and because the manager promised I would get a crack at getting it permanently when it was posted internally. Last month it was finally posted. I applied and had the interview earlier this week. Today I got an email from the manager, though I don’t think he meant to send it to me. The company upgraded its email software and so now when you type someone’s name in the email their entry in the company address book pops up and gives you the option to add them to the sent field. My supervisor isn’t very tech savy so I think he did this without realizing it.

The email was sent by the manager to the supervisor in charge of hiring. There were previous messages sent between them where they talked about the job. In the email the manager wrote ‘possiblyjobhunting is definitely the best one for the position, but it won’t look good if we promote another white. Now obviously she will have to train whoever gets it since no one else knows the job, but if she complains we can just transfer her to another branch.’ The supervisor replied with ‘Got it. No problem.’ This is quoted from the email word for word. A few hours later it was announced that one of my (Mexican) co-workers had gotten the job. I don’t think the manager or supervisor knows I saw the email because they didn’t say anything and were acting normal around me, and I didn’t say anything or complain. I have printed the email, have screen shots and a saved copy I sent to my home computer. I am so upset I don’t even want to go into work Monday. I have nothing against people who aren’t white, or my co-worker who got the job, but I feel like this is unfair.

I am in Los Angeles and it’s a fortune 500 company. Is it even worth complaining about? I know if I wasn’t white I would have a case for sure, but being that I am white I am wondering if my complaint would be taken seriously. I don’t even know who I should complain to. I also don't want to make trouble for my co-worker since none of this is her fault. I hesitated to post this here because I know it sounds so fake and blatant. I honestly was shocked when I read the email because I couldn't believe it was in writing.

Answer:
 Most of the time, when you forward an email, your mail client is only going to include a few basic headers (To:, From:, Date:, etc.). You want the full email headers, which contain much more information.

To get the full headers, see:
https://www.spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/19.html

Answer #2: I am a L but not in CA.

You have good evidence.

Find an employment law attorney and show them what you have.

Be careful though. Employment stuff has sort deadlines.


Title: [FL] Ex preventing me from picking child at school.

Question: My ex wife is trying to prevent me from picking up child at school, in the final judgement (50/50) we have equal rights. Can she prevent me from picking child at school without a court order? And if she picks up the child on my days , what course of action should I take. Should I call the police and show them the final judgement?

Answer:
 Assuming you tried to pick up your child at school on one of the days you are proscribed to do so by your agreement, what did your lawyer say when you explained to him/her that your ex violated your custody agreement?Answer #2: Most school districts have polices about this. Go to the school with the court paperwork and let them know you are allowed to pick up your child. As long as you are legally able to, they have to allow it.

You can take her back to court for contempt of the court order and custodial interference if she's not allowing you to pick up your child for your visits. If she picks up your child then go to her house to get the child unless for some reason you aren't allowed.

Also document everything. Make notes of times, dates and witnesses. The more you can show a pattern of behavior the better it will be for you.


Title: [NYC] Tenant is extremely unruly, need to get them out

Question:
My dad is in the process of retiring (probably at end of this year) and I have been taking over his landlord duties for the past few months. I'm not sure what criteria he had for getting the tenants, but now that I see them, I am at a wonder at how he was able to get rent from any of them.

Anyway, for the matter at hand, the tenant is a husband, wife with 2 kids for a two bedroom in a 2 family home. He has been a tenant for about 4 years now, and as the lease states their is a rent increase of $100 every year. Every time my father went to pick up rent and at the end of the lease told him it was time to increase, he would stop paying the rent. For some reason my dad didn't want the hassle of the court so the rent has stayed the same.

Recently he has started to complain a lot about the house. He complained about the entrance door and not feeling safe - fine, I changed the lock and made it more secure. He changed the locks to his apartment door without my dad's permission about 2 years ago, and he never gave a copy of the key to access the apartment. Then he complains about his neighbor upstairs making noise, calls me at 3am in the morning to yell at me on the phone. Calls at 3am, I pick up thinking it must be an emergency...anyway I told him, you have to make nice with the tenant above.

Last year in November, he told me about a leak in his kitchen. Fine, I call a plumber to come in on a Saturday (since I don't have a copy of the key I have to wait until they are home so I can go in). The plumber comes, he says it's ok and no need and won't let them in. I'm out $100 for calling the plumber.
He calls about the same problem again in December, I call a plumber, and then same thing happens and I'm out another $100.

Today he calls screaming that his roof is leaking in his kid's room. "This is intolerable, I'm not going to pay any rent."

I have just about had it with this tenant and I want him out. I have a feeling that I will have to take him to court, but my dad warned that judges don't really favor the landlords and I may be out of rent for 3-6 months before he is finally thrown out (the court process is slow).

What is my best course of action? Not to mention I am dreading the roof damage from where the water is coming from.

Answer: NYC landlord tenant law is confusing and pro-tenant.  Get an eviction attorney, get advice on whether a roof leak excuses payment of rent, and serve him with a pay-or-quit.  Typically nonpayment is grounds for eviction.  Eviction lawyers are typically not very expensive.  If you have multiple properties you should have one on hand.


Title: Legality of destroying neighboor's FEDERALLY ILLEGAL drugs/weed/etc.

Answer: California cop here.  I would arrest you for stealing or destroying someone's weed.  I enforce state law.Answer #2: You can be criminally charged and civilly held liable for damages. Just because someone is breaking the law doesn't mean you can burn down there house.


Title: Leesburg VA - Snow Removal Ordinance to be enforced by town starting tomorrow. Many town owned sidewalks are still not clear. Isn't it hypocritical to enforce a law that you are out of compliance with?

Question:
[Relevant laws here](http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Virginia/loudounco_va/partten-streetsutilitiesandpublicservice/titletwo-streetandsidewalkareas/chapter1022sidewalks?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:loudounco_va$anc=JD_1022.01)

My ~120 feet of sidewalk is now clear, so this has no material impact on me, but the misc local Facebook discussion groups are up in arms about this.

Thoughts on the matter?

Answer: If they do not like it, elect a new councilmen or mayor next election. Nothing is illegal about this.


Title: Sexting with someone underage

Question:
So, this is a big TIFU. I need some help on knowing what can actually happen. I'm over 18 and the person I was texting (met through an app) is under 18.

So on her profile, it said she was 20, we match, we exchange numbers, all is well. She sends a couple sexy/nude pics and that concludes the first night.

On the second night, I wake up to the bombshell that she is actually 16 - turning 17 in a week. I've already received nudes from who I thought was a 20 year old. Keep in mind, I'm over 20 as well. So, the age of consent in my state is 16, so I wasn't sweating too hard and my dumb fucking self continues the talking and now she sends one more picture on top of this.

Now I get a call from someone saying he's her dad, saying he will have me arrested for this since she's underage and I'm overage. Oh, and on top of this all, apparently he's now saying she's 15 all the sudden.

How deep of shit am I in?

Answer: Zero deep, because this is a scam. There's no girl, no father, just a scammer who is going to ask you for money. Block them and move on.


Title: [serious] [MI][PA][WI] Jill Stein says she wants to file papers to force a recount / audit of each states' ballots. Does she have legal "standing"?

Question:
So, political opinions aside, does Jill Stein have legal standing to get a recount or audit in those states?

If she does, would it be a "request" the state has the discretion to overlook?

Or is the state perforce legally obligated to perform the review?

Here's a link to an article :
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/23/jill-stein-election-recount-fund-michigan-wisconsin-pennsylvania

Not looking for a political fight, just the facts ma'm. :)

Answer:
 > So, political opinions aside, does Jill Stein have legal standing to get a recount or audit in those states?

Standing to ask for one, yes.

But there's more to getting a recount than merely having standing to ask for one. For example, in some cases, the petitioner has to [be able to] pay for it.


Title: (San Carlos CA) A friend of mine is employed as an Independent Contractor at his job, but his employer tells him when to show up and leave and doesn't let him take breaks.

Question:
To add a little more background, this is a tech industry job, and my friend is an older Muslim man who would have serious problems finding work in the field. He's very good at his job, but the industry tends to be biased towards younger people.
His employer has him working 8.5 to 9 hours a day, and he isn't allowed to take breaks.
He doesn't get any health or unemployment benefits because he's told that he's an independent contractor.
Both I and he feel like he's being exploited, as California law states that among other qualifications, he can't tell him when to show up or leave.
He approached an attorney about it, but they wouldn't take the case because they felt they wouldn't make enough money off of it as it's a smaller company (around 35 employees).
Does anyone have any insights about what my friend can do?

Answer: If your friend's employer sets his schedules, requires him to be present at a workplace, and he generally works at their direction full time, he is probably misclassified as a 1099 contractor when he should be a W-2 employee. He may contact the State Department of Labor or the IRS to review his status.


Title: Previous employer owns the building, I am contracted with other tenants, can they legally bar me from the premises?

Question:
Like it says, previous full-time employer owns the building, and I am also currently contracted to clients working in the tenant space. Contact with tenant company was agreed upon in May of this year and is still open/unfullfilled.

Put in my two weeks almost 2 weeks ago, but was told to leave and given a check today, and told I was not welcome on the property.

Can they legally prevent me from working with this client since they own the property? I didn't do anything illegal or freak out or anything, I just refused to go to the boss's house and setup his WiFi when there were 1,000 other things that needed to be done at work.

Had no idea if I even should bother a lawyer. This is in Massachusetts by the way. Thank you for any advice.

Answer: So these people you want to visit elsewhere in the building are rent paying tenants?  If so, the owners can't restrict them from having guests unless they have a really unusual lease. Just keep your head down and people will forget all about it.


Title: Need help... My ex-boyfriend (27M) paid my (25F) tuition, we later broke up and now he won't leave me alone.

Question:
My boyfriend and I met when I first started community college, he had already graduated and had a good paying job. I worked as a waitress and still lived with my parents and worked a low paying job but was still able to afford tuition at my community college. After I graduated community college we moved in together and I started attending a four year university. I asked if he would pay my tuition so I wouldn't have to take out a loan. He said that he would if I was completely serious about marrying him in the future and at the time I was. Fast forward two years and I have graduated with my bachelor's degree. He proposes to me a month after I graduate... this is where things go downhill. I wanted to have a steady and good paying job before getting married so I turned him down and said that I wasn't ready yet. The next few weeks he is very moody, didn't want to take me out on as many dates and stopped buying me gifts. I suggested that we take a break and date other people and he flipped out so I decided to end the relationship. I started dating an old friend about a month later and my ex sends him a long message on facebook telling him that I am a gold digging whore and a piece of shit. Things got weird after that and we eventually broke up. I started dating someone new about a week ago and the same thing happened, my ex texted him (not sure how he got the number) and told him the same thing. Yesterday I got a certified letter from a lawyer that said I may be sued if I don't pay my ex back for tuition. I am at my wits end, I honestly don't know what to do to get away from him and it's stressing me. I just need to block him from my life but I don't know how. I need help.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

tl;dr: my ex payed my tuition, we broke up and he is now stalking me

edit: Portland OR

Answer:
 Well, he paid on the contingency that you two got married. You decided not to marry him. So you did not hold up your end if the contact. You owe money. You got the benefit of the education. He got zip.

Also, your post makes you sound like a gold digger. Answer #2: He paid for your college but then didn't buy you gifts for a few weeks so you broke up with him?  You probably did him a favor in the long run.


Title: [IL] I'm not sure if I would be eligible for Worker's Comp-ER Visit

Question:
I am a part time seasonal worker at a retail location. A few days ago, while working I began to feel rather ill. I informed my manager and she let me leave early. I wasn't sure what was going on and suspected that I may be having a stroke (it was diagnosed as a migraine later on by the hospital which just happened to have some stroke like symptoms). When I went to a nearby clinic, I had a panic attack and stopped breathing. They called an ambulance for me and moved me to a hospital (I didn't ask for this, but I can understand why). Now I'm stuck with a rather large bill.

My question is that because I began to feel ill while I was on the clock, and because I have not had a migraine since I was in middle school, would I qualify for workers compensation? I  suspect that I had a reaction to the dye in one of the products that I was handling at the time, as I know that I've felt nauseous in the past while handing that specific product (a specific type/color of furniture). If  I do qualify, would I have to prove that it was a reaction to that product, and what would be the next steps for me?

Answer: The ambulance was the result of a panic attack and not the result of the company. Meaning you wont qualify for workers comp. Also, I haven't had a headache since middle school will not be seen as proff because it is very easy to claim this.


Title: Not being paid overtime because the overtime was "scheduled." Is this a thing?

Question: She is an hourly employee, working at an assisted living facility in Oregon.  She is non-exempt.  Is this consistent with federal and Oregon law?  I think the answer is no but I want to be sure.  She said they explained to her that since it was scheduled overtime, 1.5 x hourly need not be paid.  Isn't it the case that anything over 40hrs/week is overtime?  Thank you!

Answer:
 >  Isn't it the case that anything over 40hrs/week is overtime?

Not necessarily for where she works. Nursing homes, care facilities, an the like may use the "8 and 80" rule which looks at hours worked over 80 in a two week period. She should ask whether they use the standard 40 hour rule like most employers or "8 and 80"

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs31.htm


Title: UK - Complete farce in the club

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 It sounds like you may have been wronged but unless you are willing to take legal action over 50 pounds you probably are going to have to rely on diplomacy to recover any money.

Legally, there was no contract to purchase anything until you agreed on the 25 pound per bottle price. Once that deal was done, the vendor can't just ask for more money for an item that they had already sold to you.

You were also likely falsely imprisoned, which I believe is a tort in the UK. You didn't have any significant damages however so a suit may be a waste of your resources.


Title: Taking my son's father back to court.

Question:
I have 2 years old with my ex. We have an court order that he has him from Sunday at 5pm to Tuesday at 7pm. I don't want his parenting time terminated but I'm scared being with his father is effecting him negatively. Whenever we drop him off to his dad, as soon as he sees him or his dad's girlfriend, their house or anything related to them he started screaming, crying, and clutching on to me or my boyfriend. He's become very agressive with our dogs since his dad got a dog a few months ago (I think his dad hits his dog but I have no proof), he has night terrors, scared of the dark, doesnt like doors to any room he's in being closed, "punishes" himself my slapping his own hand or head and yelling bad when we tell him no or not to do something. He acts out a lot the day after we get him home from his dad's and has trouble sleeping for at least 2 nights after he gets home.

I also use to be kinda friends with his girlfriend and she would tell me how mentally abusive he was to her (he was very abusive to me as well) and how he even hit her in front of my son once. I've had to pick up my son before because they were fighting so bad and when I asked where he was during it they said he was right there sitting next to his girlfriend (as she was screaming some very colorful language at my son's father that I heard since he had called me to pick my son up).

I don't know what to do. I want to go back to court but last time the judge didn't listen to me at all. Even though I knew he was doing drugs/selling them. He had abandoned my son for 2 months straight to "get back at me". I'm scared that he's going to abuse our son like he did to me. I know he resents him being born as he's told me mutiple time after that he wish I had gotten an abortion.

My son's father's family has money and got him a really good lawyer last time we went to court while I had a PD. The judge didn't look any of my evidence but ate his "evidence" up (a picture of a family outing of me, my boyfriend, and son) and made it seem like I was alienating him when I had text of us inviting him to outings, dinner, appointments and everything which he refused. My PD pretty much told me to sit down, shut up and let stuff keep happening.

Please, any help you can give me would be appreciated. Thanks.

Answer: You need beg, borrow,  sell things,  whatever you have to do to get a lawyer because it sounds as if your son is in a physically,  emotionally and mentally dangerous place. I mean, you can see he's already badly damaged by this mess. You have to do whatever it takes to protect him. He can't afford for you not to


Title: My estranged pregnant wife and I have always kept separate finances. Am I obligated to pay spousal support now that we've separated? (Ontario, Canada)

Question:
(This is long, I am sorry). My estranged wife and I have always kept separate finances; what money she made was hers and what money I made was mine regardless of any disparity in our income. I make approximately $80k/year she makes approximately $40k but probably makes much closer to $60-$65 when her gratuities are factored in. We split the bills evenly and the only thing our names shared was our mortgage. We both felt it would save us from fighting in our marriage and in the event of divorce.
In October of 2017 we separated after two years of marriage and four and a half years of cohabitation. Three weeks after we separated we found out we were also expecting. My ex wanted to reconcile for the sake of our child while I held fast on our break up. Our relationship was incredibly toxic and my ex is emotionally and verbally abusive. I don't believe in "staying together for the kids" and I truly believe that two healthy, loving homes will be better for our son than one poisonous one. I also know that if we had reconciled it would have only prolonged the inevitable and we would be divorcing in five years, creating a traumatic event for our child. I would rather this be the norm for him from the beginning and I had hoped that what we weren't able to do in marriage we would be able to do as co-parents.
 Our mortgage was up for renewal in February and the plan was for me to pay her out for her portion of the equity in the house via a spousal buy out. We were also going to use a separation agreement she drafted which stated that in lieu of spousal support we would not subtract the downpayment I had saved prior to entering the relationship from the equity we had amassed. This would amount to my ex being paid an extra $4300.
To be completely honest my finances were a lot fucked and it had taken an extra two months longer than anticipated for me to get my credit to a spot where I would qualify on my own. I have gotten there and we could have moved forward on the buy out but two days before I was approved I received a letter from a lawyer she hired. Her lawyer was now requesting spousal support and wanted an immediate payment of $1000 to go towards the payments I had already missed.  Even after I received the letter my ex still says that she doesn't want spousal support but her attorney says that because she is carrying my child I owe her spousal support on top of the child support I will be paying regardless of our finances being separate. She also says with my ex on maternity leave I need to be paying her more. When I brought up the downpayment she said that I was not guaranteed to keep that because it was used to purchase the matrimonial home. I guess my question is how accurate is this? Do I actually have a case for not paying the spousal support or am I just prolonging the inevitable by not paying? Even though I had the downpayment prior to the marriage is my ex actually entitled to it? I'm not trying to be a deadbeat but I am trying to get a fair agreement that honours the way we planned things.

Answer:
 You need to get a lawyer and discuss with them. You will be paying child support for sure but spousal support is not certain at all.Answer #2: The fact that your spouse has already lawyered up is a red flag. From what you're describing, she might contest the finances so you need your own lawyer.

Also, as a precaution please kindly have the baby tested for DNA once its born. If you sign the birth certificate and later try to back out, it might be 'no backsies'.


Title: What are my rights concerning practicing an instrument in my apartment? (NYC)

Question:
I am a freelancing classical musician living in NYC. My neighbors keep complaining about my practicing horn in my apartment.  Thus far, I've tried to be as respectful as possible. (Only playing between 12pm-8pm, trying to play in the bedroom, offering to move into other parts of the apartment when asked.)

I tried looking on the DEP site, but could only find information about commercial and amplified music.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Answer: New York is a little tricky about this type of noise. The law is purposely ambiguous. Basically, you have to find a balance with your neighbors, because they do have the right to the quiet enjoyment of their home, BUT if your instrument isn't absurdly loud, you have the right to play it. So the only thing anyone is going to be able to tell you is that this is something you need to work out with your neighbor, because the law is ambiguous... on purpose.


Title: Fair or unfair firing

Question: Some months back I was hired at chewy Inc I took a pre employment drug test for the position but I had marijuana in my system a week after being hired I was drug tested again and I was fired from chewy Inc for failing a drug test with marijuana in my system after a lengthy conversation with hr and the manager of the building I was told that the drug test goes back 3 days but I'm a pot head I smoke everyday and had no previous knowledge of the test before it occurred so I had no possible way to be prepared to cheat the system there reasons and responding where vague at best after 3 months I reapplied for the position but came to find out i was deemed nonrehirable  i know every state is different from the other I live in Florida was this fair or unfair seeing that it has to with an substance that is not legal in Florida and if unfair is they legal recourse for this

Answer:
 Yes, it's fair game to fire you for using a federally outlawed drug. That was also a very long sentence. Answer #2: Are you asking whether it’s fair for a company to fire you over your illegal drug use?

I won’t judge fair. It is certainly legal. Answer #3: What they did was legal.  Also, you should probably quit, as it seems to be adversely affecting your brain.


Title: Can an airline company refuse to let you board if you don't give them your destination address on an intl flight?

Question:
While traveling to Europe the airline company refused to let us board unless we told them where we're staying. We already gave this info to immigration and felt it was not the airline business to ask for our address.

Could they really refuse to let us board if we didn't give the destination address?  If we refused and they didn't let us board, could we sue?

Answer:
 I believe airlines are required to return any passengers that don't make it through passport control back to the origin country on their dime. Obviously they don't want someone who they know won't make it through to board their plane and not having a destination address is a very good indication that they will be refused entry into a country.Answer #2: Yes. It's common. Not sure why you imagine that even could be illegal, to be honest.Answer #3: Indeed they can. If you can't provide it to them, they may be carrying a passenger who will not make it through passport control and waste a seat.

In this day and age, I am a bit surprised to think something so minor would be thought of as out of line. Why would you take issue with them requiring it, let alone question the legality of it?


Title: I'm worried about the physical safety of my younger siblings at the hands of my brother. How can I stop any future violence before it happens?

Question:
(I live in a suburban area of New York State)

This is a complicated situation, but I'll try to be brief.

I'm 18. I come from a recently divorced family of seven children. I live with my dad, along with one sister, while my other family lives with my mother.

Most of the children who live with her are very little, the youngest three being ages 3, 5, and 7.

My fifteen year old brother is not very mentally stable. When my father comes over for visitation, he throws violent scenes and yells in front of the whole neighborhood. Just last week, my dad told me that he (literally, not a joke or exaggeration) started jumping on top of the hood of the car and started banging on the front window.

He has issues with anger. He's had a history of violence and troubles with both anger and empathy. He has been on medication, but has stopped taking it two months ago because he is paranoid that my father is "using it to control him" even though it's been prescribed by a psychiatrist. We can't force him to take it because he lives with his mother, who doesn't believe in medication for mental health. He's been through multiple therapists, and always ends up fighting with them or throwing a scene.

I've heard from my mother a few weeks ago that he's been collecting knives and storing them in his room.

I don't know what I can do. I don't feel good about him being around my younger siblings. But nothing has happened so far that would warrant legal action. My mother goes to work most nights and comes home at 7. Her father watches the children, but he is old, and can't speak English very well.

Is there anything I can do? There are long stretches of time where he is alone with the children, and I'm worried that there won't be anything I can do to put the children in a safer situation until after something's already happened. Because he hasn't done anything drastically illegal, and because he is still a minor and in my mother's care, there isn't anything I can do to distance him from them. He isn't getting the help he needs. I don't feel good about just sitting here waiting for something to happen. These are vulnerable, little children with a near-absent mother.

Other things my brother has done:
•poured water on my 13 year old brother in a restaurant (on two separate occasions)
•pretended to be someone online for 2 years to my sister, and pretended to be her close friend. I found out when he bragged, "I can't believe she's stupid enough to believe it after two years".  When I told her, she cried for forty minutes.
•has been violent to me and my sister.
•steals money and other belongings from family members
•regularly gaslights, manipulates people. Once tried to "teach" me how to lie to our father.
•emotionally antagonizes and berates my sister with BPD and anxiety. He targets her specifically. This is the same sister who he pretended to befriend online.
•tried to lie to the public school administration that he was being physically abused and neglected.
•regularly throws fits in public.
•I've seen him screaming at my younger (7 yr old) sister, calling her a "retard", and I've seen him manhandling the children when they're dropped off from visitation.
•stalked a teacher from his middle school until he was given an unofficial restraining order from the school. He has a notice that if he is on the school grounds again, they will take legal action.

EDIT: In the past three years, custody has switched around a few times. I'll make a timeline:

Brother A- Brother who I talk about in paragraph

2014-15- Divorce starts. Our father moves out, all kids are with mother. Mother tries to pit us against father and coaches us on what to say to make sure he doesn't get custody.
2015-16- visitation starts. We see him on wednesdays for two hours, he sees kids three at a time on saturdays for 7 hours.
2016- Brother A moves with father after an explosive confrontation with our mother makes her want him out of the house.
2017-January- I move in with my father along with my sister for personal reasons.
2017-July- Brother A stops taking pills and lies to our father that he takes them
2017-Early June- Brother A moves with our mother again, causing me to fear for smaller siblings' safety knowing I'm not there to protect them.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Call CPS.


Title: Dad commits suicide and gold digger wife of 6months is getting everything?

Question:
So,  this widow marries my dad after her first husband commits suicide, thinking that he's loaded.  Finds out that he's severely in debt and a few months later he kills himself.  I'm a co-beneficiary along with my deceased brother on his 401K,  but she's getting that money.

There is a will and another life insurance policy in his house,  but she won't grant me admittance.  She's blocked my phone number, and my spouses, eleven though we haven't tried to contact her.  And she started probate on the estate without contacting us.

Is there anything I can do to have something of my father's?  I've lost my whole family in the last 2.5 years and now I'm loosing the home that my grandparents, dad, and my siblings and I had lived in.... I'm just so lost at how she's taken literally everything from me

Answer:
 Get a probate lawyer. That 401k, if you are a beneficiary, should go to you.

Anyone else think she is a black widow?


Title: (Update) Restaurant takes 10% of servers tips for credit-card processing fees when the fee is 3-4% & other shady practices. Is this normal? (RI)

Question: I know my first post was by no means popular but thought y'all would be interested to hear that the restaurant just got visited by a labor rights group representing an ex-employee and was threatened w/ a lawsuit...

Answer: Link to the first post?Answer #2: Restaurant should just pay you guys a real wage and end the stupid tipping practice.


Title: How many consecutive terms could a Vice President serve as President if they took over during the first year of the President they are replacing's term?

Question:
I maintain it would be the remainder of the replaced President's term and one other per the 22nd Amendment (as the served time as a replacement would be larger than two years), u/dnietz believes it would be the remainder of the replacement term plus two more. He has told me to "Go ask a legal scholar or one of the legal subs here."
So that is what I'm doing.

Our discussion for context: https://np.reddit.com/r/SandersForPresident/comments/5r1qzm/bernie_sanders_on_twitter_steve_bannon_sitting_on/dd446s4/?context=1

Answer:
 The amendment is clear:

> Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and **no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.**

So first year of the term would put him in for three years, and he could run for one more term thereafter.  In the last year (or two) of the term, the VP could run twice more if he assumed the Office.Answer #2: "Consecutive" is irrelevant, by the way. You don't get a reset by taking a term off.


Title: Apartment maintenance broke and entered...

Question:
Good morning everyone,

I’m here to seek an advice. My apartment had a breaking and entering two month ago and I lost about $700 in cash so I installed a camera in the living room. Last Friday, I saw the alarm and I recorded a maintenance guy entered my apartment and searched for 10mins (he wears apartment shirt). I checked the office at the same time and they said no1 should be in your room. I called police and went home. I didn’t find anything lost but police said it’s a crime and that individual will be charged. The apartment is asking me for an amount of compensation but I have no idea. They fired that individual already. The current rent is about 2k/month. Should I hire an attorney for this case? If not, how much should I ask for the compensation?

Thanks in advance

Answer:
 Ask for your $700 back, if that is all you are out.Answer #2: Ask for a free month, it’s much more than the $700 and it might be easier for them paperwork wise.Answer #3: In some states, an entry without 24 hours notice can have damages equal or greater to one months rent. Some states have double or triple damages. It is a BIG No No.

It is not clear what state you are in.Answer #4: $700 and at least a free month of rent for your invasion of privacyAnswer #5: I second asking for a free month of rent. Reimbursing you for the $700 is more complicating then not taking rent payment for a month.

If they agree, get it in writing. Email or letter, etc

Also demand that the locks be completely changed.


Title: USA - Can you sell magical items online legally?

Question: I'm asking because I am opening an amazon type shop for this stuff. Multi-vendor. This stuff is wanted by more than you would believe. I already have it up and am working on it. But I am heads or tales not sure if it is LEGAL. Tarot / psychic readings / enchanted candles / gems / ect. All I know at this point is ebay did away with ALL of it, Etsy did away with everything other than readings. But why? Is it because people got pissed? Is it because they (the companies) just didn't want it associated with them? If someone wants to spend their money on a good, can it still be legal to sell? So WHAT if someone wants to buy a candle that has been blessed. Can the internet police get me? This is a gold mine opportunity. I'm a tarot reader and a graphic designer. I just so happen to have a boss that is doing this for my Christmas present. Hell of a present I'm telling you. But I am worried about legal problems I do not even know what exists at this point. I think everyone has to say "this is for entertainment purposes only" - but I don't really know why.. we all take it seriously and so do our clients. But so far every BIG retailer makes you say it.

Answer: Potential mail fraud, or at least false advertising, if you're selling items that are advertised as magical but are not magical.


Title: I stole things, got busted, gave them back, paid restitution. Whats the chances I can get these things back? [US/OK]

Question:
Hello!
A few years ago, I got myself into trouble. I stole approximately $3,200 worth of stuff from Wal-MArt (I worked there). The night the confronted/arrested me, I gave them back everything I had stolen. I had a decent lawyer and he led me to believe that once I had finished paying off restitution and court fees, I would be able to get these things back since, in a round-a-bout way, I had paid for them.
Fast forward to present day. I have officially finished paying off everything. I contacted the DA in the county where I got arrested and asked them about it. The explained to me that I had been misinformed, and that the only way to get those things back was through another hearing. Fair enough, perhaps I just misunderstood the lawyer. Not a big deal, he did get me out of serving any real jail time, so there's that.
Now, for my actual question.
What are the chances that I will be able to get these things back? Many of them will be quite useful. The police department holding the items seemed pretty optimistic.
Any help is greatly appreciated, and if you need any more information, I have all sorts of stuff from the cases.
Thanks!
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 If you get a lawyer and petition the court, your chances are roughly **ZERO PERCENT.**

Paying restitution is not "paying for the items."  If you want the items, you can return for them and buy them like everyone else.Answer #2: You did not "pay for them." You paid restitution for the effort it took the company to protect its property.


Title: Employer Withholding Pay

Question:
I'm in NYC and my office does not use direct deposit.  We're supposed to be given our paychecks after 5pm every other Thursday, but sometimes it's pushed to Friday if the boss has left for the day.  We were supposed to be paid on the 27th but were told that it would have to wait until the 28th (Friday).  Yesterday the boss told us that there was a delay because of the holiday (I'm not sure which one because banks have been open all week?) and we would be getting our checks "maybe Tuesday."  We didn't even get an apology or a definitely.  One lower level manager was given her check and told not to cash it for a few days.

My coworkers and me are really upset over this.  We were given no advanced warning that our pay would be delayed almost a week.  It's the end of the month and most of us can't afford to pay rent on time now, I missed my student loan payment and am short on half my rent. Most of my coworkers are single parents have kids to support.  One coworker had planned on quitting next week so she reported them to NY State and refuses to come back until we're given our checks.

Is something like this worth reporting for me?  I'm not planning on leaving but I'm scared that reporting it would result in my office getting fined or some sort of business license revoked, and we'd shut down and lose our jobs.

Answer:
 > One lower level manager was given her check and told not to cash it for a few days.

It sounds more like the business is having financial difficulties. You might want to start looking for a new job.

That being said, you can try filing for a wage claim with the NY labor department, but that will take longer to get paid than just waiting until Tuesday.


Title: Wilmington, NC. Bouncers broke my glasses

Question:
I was out for NYE in Wilmington, North Carolina and was eventually told I needed to leave the bar I was at. I didn't think I was at a point where I should be kicked out so my girlfriend and I were discussing it with the bouncers at the bar.

Eventually they got tired of the discussion and decided that I needed to go, this led to them pushing me forcefully down a couple flights of stairs and culminated with them throwing me onto the sidewalk once we were outside. During this process I sustained multiple cuts on my face, hands, and arms. Additionally my glasses are now destroyed beyond the point of usability (lens is badly scratched, and the entire frame has been deformed).

From a little bit of reading I've done it doesn't seem to me that bouncers have special privileges that would allow them to legally do this to me (we were only having a verbal exchange, at no point was I violent, or a threat to others), but I don't really know how to proceed and have a few questions about what my possible recourse/actions should be.

* I haven't yet contacted the bar, is that something I should do on my own?

* How can I get the names of the bouncers that hurt me?

* Do I need to file a police report? If so, can I do this over the phone?

* I have pictures of injuries and glasses after this transpired, should I send those to the bar as evidence and hope that they are willing to just give me money as a settlement?

Any help is much appreciated!

Answer:
 They told you to leave, you didn't (thus you were trespassing), they forced you out. That is literally their exact job and purpose.

> I didn't think I was at a point where I should be kicked out

Unless you own the property, it doesn't matter what you think. They can remove whoever they want to remove.Answer #2: How much are your glasses worth?

You can contact the manager of the bar and see what they say, but don't be surprised if they tell you to go pound sand.

Otherwise you can try to sue. You are correct that bouncers can't use physical force just for the purpose of throwing you out - but it will ultimately be your word (probably intoxicated patron) against the word of a number of trained security professionals. Don't be surprised if you (and your girlfriend) get slapped with a charge of trespassing the second you file court documents as well.

Personally, I would just walk away from the whole mess, and write it  off as a life lesson in the harsh realities of what happens when you back chat a bouncer


Title: How long can a person be kept in prison/jail for "contempt of court" if they are refusing to testify?

Question: What are the limits on this judicial power? Can they just keep you in jail forever until you agree to testify? Do they have to release you after the case is closed? Or is it literally "forever until you testify", full stop?

Answer: The record holder in the US is former attorney H. Beatty Chadwick, held for 14 years while he refused to testify. He was eventually released when his own attorney was able to argue that his testimony was no longer relevant. Otherwise, he could have been held until he complied.Answer #2: The maxim in equity is that, in cases of civil contempt, the contemner holds the keys. That is, civil contempt is meant to coerce cooperation and that cooperation, something within the contemner's power to unilaterally do, is what sets them free. The term of imprisonment is literally indefinite and the case would likely be continued out for status hearings at regular intervals to check in. I will say, I'm having a hard time imagining a scenario where a non-party, subpoenaed witness' unprivileged refusal to testify would not be so prejudicial to at least one party that the case would continue on.


Title: Transferring legal ownership of a vehicle from dad to 18-year-old son in New Jersey

Question:
When our son turned 16, he used his savings to purchase a car. My husband and I initially promised to match his contribution to the purchase, but he had saved $15,000 on his own and opted to purchase a vehicle outright within that amount. We ultimately did not contribute any money towards the purchase, titles, taxes, or registration.

For some legal reason, the dealer would not sell the car to our son in his name due to his age. Instead, the car was sold in and registered in dad's name, and is insured under our insurance policy. We added our son as the main driver of the car on our insurance and the insurance car has his name listed first (with dad's name and my name underneath, in that order). It is factually our son's car, no one else has driven it outside of occasional situations, and he has taken responsibility for almost all gas, repair and maintenance expenses himself.

Now, our son is turning 18 next month and would like the title and registration transferred into his name. We would still like to continue maintaining the insurance while he attends college. The MVS claims that our son needs to "purchase" the car from dad at market value and produce a bill of sale, despite the fact that he factually owns the car. We obviously aren't going to make him pay for the car twice. If we give him the money to "purchase" the car from us, which amounts to approximately $11,000, we are concerned about the income tax implications for him.

Is there another way we can we transfer ownership from dad to son, which does not result in negative tax implications for him, and which would still allow maintaining the insurance in mom and dad's name?

Answer:
 > he factually owns the car.

No, your name is on the title, so you own the car.  What you are now looking to do is gift the car to him.  A quick look at the [New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission website](http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Vehicle/VehiclesExempt.htm) seems to indicate that gifts are perfectly permissible (see Exemption #6).

> we are concerned about the income tax implications for him.

There should be no income tax implications because gifts are not taxed as income.  Also, there should be no gift tax implications because you are under the $14,000 annual exclusion.  There is also no sales tax implication, as stated on the page I linked above.

Edit: typo


Title: Who is liable?

Question:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Whatcouldgowrong/comments/8wldx8/im_gonna_stop_these_damn_joyriders_and_their_car?sort=confidence

I was looking at this post. And the discussion interested me.

Who, exactly would be liable for the injuries and damage to the car?

The red car is obviously behaving recklessly and illegally, but the pedestrian also obviously should have known not to walk into the path of the moving car.

What do you think? I'm leaning towards the driver of the car being liable, simply because his defense is either "I want in control of the car and couldn't avoid him" or "i was in control of the car and hit him anyway" both of which are crimes.

Answer:
 Shared liability is a thing, too.  It's not always one or the other, sometimes it's a little of both.

Having said that, I'd venture to guess that red car person might be the most liable, to whatever degree.Answer #2: This looks like a textbook case of contributory negligence.


Title: Boyfriend punched coworker in the face and he had to go to the hospital. Now what?

Question: Like the title states, after many drinks last night my boyfriend hit my coworker.  We are all past the point of coherent and some guys got rude to my boyfriend so he got heated with them and security got involved. That was diffused and my coworker was trying to help even though I really didn’t want him to because when my boyfriend and him are both drunk they are super mean and will come at anyone’s throat. My coworker was also on his way to get cocaine but thought he was helping the situation.  We were finally under control and walking away and I can’t even remember what was said but my coworker said something to my boyfriend that was rude and slightly lunged at him. This caused my boyfriend to hit him in the face, once.  He went down on the pavement where he cut his face open.  He freaked out and kept screaming 911. Cops were called and he was taken in an ambulance but they said he was okay and no stitches, his eyelid was messed up.  Last weekend my boyfriend had to diffuse a fight for this kid because when he gets black out drunk he picks fights.  The kids boyfriend said it was a matter of time until someone is fed up and serves it to him. I didn’t think it would be my boyfriend and especially over the situation we were experiencing. I just don’t even know what we should do from here. I didn’t give a witness statement because I didn’t want to go down to the police station, not sure if that was a good move. Should he get a lawyer?  Or should we wait and see? Any advice appreciated.

Answer:
 It was smart for you not to give a statement, because this post contains unrelated info that doesn't help your boyfriend's case (buying cocaine). The police interviewing you could probably extract more information than you wanted to share.

Yes, he should get a criminal defense lawyer.

You should probably rethink your relationship to a habitually violent drunk.


Title: Can I be fired for this?

Question: I work in Ohio for a company that ships prescription drugs and other everyday items. Today I had to sign a DEA form authorizing a background check. It was for felony’s, which I don’t have. I do have a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana less then a 100g. It happened ten years ago and I’m curious if it will show up and cause trouble at my job? I’ve work here for ten years and the charge came a few months into my employment. They do this yearly but I honestly don’t recall signing this before (prob just threw it into an hr meeting I wasn’t paying attention at) should I be worried? Would something that happened ten yrs ago be cause for firing me?

Answer:
 As someone who regularly does background checks (not a lawyer), most companies & background check companies go back 7 years. A few go back 10 years. Top Secret clearance goes back practically since conception.

They can fire you but it's unlikely to come back on their check & if it did, it would be a management call. You would not get in trouble for having a previous misdemeanor.


Title: [Illinois] Pilot furloughed from airline which received CARES Act money

Question:
The title sums up the situation.

On 04/30/2020, I was furloughed from an airline involuntarily due to the Covid19 crisis. On 05/12/2020, the airline I work for (ExpressJet Airlines, a regional airline that partners with United Airlines) received grant money through the CARES Act. A stipulation of this money was to prohibit layoffs/furloughs through September 30, 2020, by funding 75% of payroll expenses.

My issue: I question the legality of this move, though IANAL. In addition, I believe through furlough betrays the spirit of the law even if it was legal. What recourse do I have, if any?

Thanks for reading
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: The union is the best point of contact. Even though you were within your first year and on probation you should still be able to confer with someone of the leadership about this. If you are not able to log in to the union website to get contact info let me know and I will get it for you.


Title: Paid for written content, can I put my name as author?

Question:
I paid someone on upwork to write me a blog article.

I liked it so much I asked her to go more in depth and told her I'd be turning it into an ebook. She gave me permission.

I'm going through the editing process right now. Some parts I'm making a lot of changes and other parts I'm leaving 100% as is.

Now that I'm getting to the point where I'll be publishing shortly, I'm wondering if I am required to put her down as an author? Can I solely put my name?

My original thought is she'd be essentially a ghost writer, but I want to make sure I'm being legal.

If I am required to put her name down, are there guidelines where if I change it enough through the editing process that it is no longer her work?

I should add that it's written content as well as pictures she took of inanimate objects such as food items.

Thanks!

Answer:
 There is not enough information. Firstly, we need your location. Secondly we need more context.

1. Do you own the copyright for the blog article?
2. Are you writing this eBook under some contract with a publisher or other entity?

Plagiarism doesn't exist, in itself, as a crime or civil infraction, but the act of plagiarism may violate laws by other names:

1. It could be considered fraud since you are passing off someone else's work as your own. If you are contracted to write an eBook of original material, and you pawn off someone else's work as your own, that could be fraud.
2. If you do not retain the copyright to the blog post, then you may be violating the original author's copyright.

It's likely that you own the copyright to the blog post (that would seem standard) and it seems you're writing this eBook just for your own personal benefit. So you are probably free to plagiarize it as you see fit. I don't find it particularly ethical (and I don't see why you wouldn't properly cite your work), but depending on the State and context, it might be perfectly legal.


Title: [PA] Mother changing children's school without my consent

Question:
I have shared physical and legal custody of my children, 4 and 8. Their mother mentioned to my fiance that she's going to be moving soon (45 minutes away.) Oldest child is currently attending the school district that her mother lives in, which is about 15-20 minutes away. My younger child attends a pre-school that's a half hour away but is transported by my school district (special needs,) and there's no way my district is going to pick her up where she intends on moving to. I have custody on the majority of school days, so if they are going to change schools, I feel it should be to my district. My custody agreement also states who is to babysit my children on the nights that she (their mother) works and I'm unavailable (2 nights a week,) and said babysitter is in my school district. There is no way she will have time to pick them up at the babysitter after work and get them to school on time. She has no good reason for moving, and doesn't take into consideration what is best for our kids. She does what SHE wants, the kids deal with the consequences. I don't know if it's ignorance, or willful disregard for my thoughts on the matter, but she thinks she can just pick up and move without a) notifying me of the proposed relocation (I know it's not like she's moving to another state, but she is still required to notify me via certified mail, along with any proposed custody change) and b) Getting my consent to change schools.

I will be consulting an attorney ASAP, but I don't know when this move is coming (could be this week for all I know.) What do I do in the meantime? Do I inform her of the [relocation documentation](http://law.justia.com/codes/pennsylvania/2012/title-23/chapter-53/section-5337) she failed to provide and tell her I'm not consenting to school district change? Or do I just wait for her to complete the move and enroll my daughter in my district (I wouldn't have her consent either but it would be a stale-mate?) Any other options or advice here?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 >I will be consulting an attorney ASAP

I take this comment to mean you don't currently have an attorney?  If that's the case you should spend Sunday researching attorneys and start calling Monday morning.  Make sure to mention that mom is moving soon and intends to switch school districts, and you have no idea how soon it will be/it could be any day.

By passing along this information and the urgency you *should* be able to get a consultation scheduled as soon as is available, and if possible some specific advice between now and then.

It's possible that the attorney's advice will be to inform her of the relocation document now.  It's possible they will say let her break it as it will help in moving them to your district.  It's possible they will give some third option.  As long as you are going to be calling attorneys on Monday morning, it's probably safest to not take advice from anyone except your attorney that will lead you take action before you actually talk to them.

Other posters more familiar with custody law in PA will likely be able to lay out your options and probable outcomes much better, but ultimately everyone will say your best option is to let your attorney decide.


Title: Updates are now in contest mode instead of being locked?

Question:
I don't see any sort of mod thread about it, but is it now going to be a thing that updates in /r/legaladvice will remain unlocked but placed into contest mode?

I've noticed it on a few threads today.

Answer: What is contest mode?


Title: (TX) How do I divorce my husband?

Question: [removed]

Answer: Get a lawyer. Hire a Texas divorce attorney and have them do.it all for you.


Title: {Texas}

Question: I know someone who works at Walmart. They were fired for violating the patriot act according to Walmart. My Friend who I will name Bob(23)  is the Walmart worker. Bob's friend Stu is 16. Stu's dad wanted to send him some money but couldn't because he isn't 18. Instead Stu's dad sends the money to Bob, Bob then signs for the wired money while on break (isn't the issue). Stu also signs the wire transfer. Walmart then fires Bob for violating the Patriot Act and alleges money laundering. Stu was using the money to buy something at the store. Did Bob violate the patriot act? I ask due to unemployment eligibility.

Answer: It doesn't matter, really. Unless Texas has a statute protecting workers from being fired for any lawful activity (it doesn't) then Walmart can fire him.


Title: Roommate's power play in Massachusetts apartment: Can she legally enforce a "roommate policy"?

Question:
**tl;dr: MA landlord hires roommate as building manager; roommate claims authority to force tenants to abide by additional rules beyond what's in the lease.**

I'm writing this on behalf of a friend who recently signed a six-month lease for an apartment in Massachusetts.

One of her two roommates originally appeared sane, but whipped out the crazy not long after my friend moved in. Stuff like refusing to start paying the electric bill and demanding that nobody use the power so that she could delay transferring it from the landlord's name for as long as possible. They finally brought the apartment back into the 21st century, but now the roommate is making another power play. I'm 99% sure she has no legal ground to stand on, but I'd really appreciate r/legaladvice's input.

Essentially, the roommate got the landlord to hire her as some kind of overseer/manager/superintendent type of thing for the building. She's now trying to use this position to force everyone in every shared apartment to sign and abide by a "roommate agreement" that she wrote herself. She claims that the lease empowers her/the landlord to enforce this agreement "in legalese" (her words, repeatedly), and that my friend is required to abide by it even if she refuses to sign it. She apparently kept saying that the lease totally definitely said that, and that my friend was misinterpreting it because she has no legal background.

I read the lease and I don't see anything in there about requiring tenants to abide by an additional contract. The "roommate agreement" includes many restrictions that are not present in the lease.

This is bullshit, right? Am I crazy, or is there no way that a lease could require someone to abide by additional, tighter restrictions set forth in a document they weren't shown until after they signed the lease? And what steps should my friend take to deal with this? Will my friend have legal recourse if the roommate uses her position as the landlord's employee to retaliate against violations of the "agreement"? My friend is going to talk to the landlord at some point tomorrow.

I have copies of the lease and the "agreement" if that helps and if it's within the rules for me to share them. Thanks!

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Nope. None of this. Your lease dictates everything. If it's not in the lease tell her f' off. Answer #2: This sounds like an insane personal power trip.  I don't know anything about Massachusetts law specifically, but I'd be shocked if there's anything in Massachusetts (or any other state)that could even possibly require a tenant under an existing lease to later sign yet another contract that has never before been seen and that creates additional and/or more restrictive burdens.  Anything like that would open the doors to massive tenant abuse.

And anyone who uses the term "legalese" probably doesn't have the slightest clue about the law.

Given your fact description, there's absolutely no way I'd sign the newly offered/demanded contract -- regardless of who is requesting/demanding it.


Title: Landlord is threatening to kick me out and requesting medical records for my emotional support animal.

Question:
First of all I want to apologise for bad spelling/ formatting errors. I'm at work and I'm having a panic attack.

I live in Iowa.

I just moved into a new apartment on Oct 14th. My lease states that there is to be no pets unless written consent from the land lord, I was unaware until the day I signed the lease. The landlord asked to see my roommates dog because she is a German Shepard and about 80lbs, so I didn't think there would be an issue with having a declawed and neutered, <20lb cat.
When my landlord found out that I had a cat he informed us that it was a one pet policy on our lease. When I found out I went online to register him as an emotional support animal at https://www.emotionalpetsupport.com/ I filled everything out, got the prescription letter and sent it to the apartment manager, who informed me that they need me to sign a release of my medical records from the doctor that prescribed the ESA letter.
I informed my roommate that I emailed the manager the letter and he told me that the land lord was threatening to kick us out and call the cops.
I know there are a lot of suspicious sites when it comes to ESA's, but everything looked official when I looked into that site.
I don't know what to do. I'm having a horrible panic attack right now.
I can provide copies of the lease/letter/ medical release request that they want me to sign if needed.
Any help at all would be tremendously appreciated. Thank you.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: ESA registries are a scam. If you have a genuine need for an ESA, you need to inform the landlord. You are entitled to reasonable accommodations. It may not be reasonable to have one ESA and one pet in an apartment with a one-pet policy.


Title: [US/Wisconsin] Will I get in trouble if I fail a pre-employment drug test?

Question: Im around marijuana alot and may smoke it. Im applying for a summer job and am slightly worried about failing a drug test. What happens if I test positive?

Answer:
 You probably just won't be hired.

However, you should be aware that Marijuana is a Schedule I hallucinogenic substance under the Wisconsin Uniform Controlled Substances Act.  You're playing a risky game.

A **first offense** for possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by **a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 6 months.**


Title: My soon to be ex-wife snapped pictures of messages on my phone (messages with another person, and she printed them off) without my consent in an attempt to slander me. Is this legal?

Question: As described, my soon to be ex-wife gained access to my personal cellphone (without my consent), took pictures of messages in my Facebook messenger app, printed them off, showed them to my employer, and tried to get me in trouble. These messages were private messages between myself and another person. I live in Washington state if that helps.

Answer: Slander involves the spreading of lies and photographs of your text messages are a truthful record, so that wouldn't qualify. You might be able to argue that this continues harrassment and apply for an order, but most jurisdictions require repeated offensive acts, as is I believe the case in WA.


Title: Told to keep quiet by employer after bringing to light payroll issues.

Question:
I'll try to make a long story short..

Myself and another employee brought it to the attention of our employer (the hr/safety guy and the payroll clerk) that payroll had been accounted wrong for quite sometime and it needed to be fixed. (Our payroll officer that has been working there for 10-15 years has been entering half hours of work as ".30" rather than ".50" for the entirety of her employment at the company.) Well we were told to keep our mouths shut because they couldn't afford to get into back paying affected employees. Well fast forward to last week and both myself and the other person mentioned left the company and after seeing our last checks realized that we were both docked pay due to "payroll advances" that never took place and there is zero proof of ever taking place. My question is, where to I go from here? Is this a department of labor issue or a civil courts issue? Also would the employer be required to pay all passed employees unpaid wages or is there a statue of limitations on things like that?

Answer:
 Sounds like illegal [retaliation against a whistleblower](https://employment.findlaw.com/whistleblowers/whistleblower-retaliation-and-the-law.html). Talk to a lawyer.Answer #2: In Georgia you need to contact the Department of Labor about a wage claim issue. Here's who you specifically need to contact:

 **Atlanta District Office**
US Dept. of Labor
Wage and Hour Division
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Room 7M10
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (678) 237-0521

**Atlanta North Area Office**
Harris Tower
233 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Suite 650
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 593-1889 Answer #3: ~~10~~ 12 minutes of pay owed every employee per day for a decade.  Dude.  RUN to the department of labor.

Welp, guess I should apply for the payroll position at OP's company, I'm no better at math.  Thanks /u/strong_opinionAnswer #4: Wow, the gall of people.  If I were you, I would reign full fury on them.  Go to the Dept of Labor and make your complaint.  You have no obligation to protect the payroll department's incompetence!Answer #5: Keep in mind that the ones retaliating against you are the people who fucked up, NOT your employer per se. You might want to go bug the owner instead of HR. I would presume HR and the payroll officer don't want *their* bosses to know about their fuckup.Answer #6: i can only say that they don't want you reporting it so that they can continue with whatever scam they've cooked up. "Please don't report us, Here's your back pay and we're sorry " vs. "Please don't report, we will look into it" ARE NOT the same thing and you should RUN to the labor dept.Answer #7: Someone in the  Dept. of Labor is salivating.

You have your former employer by the balls.

Wage theft, and whistle-blower retaliation.


Title: [ONTARIO] Some people from my school just came to my house and covered me and the surrounding patio in silly string, does this count as vandalism?

Question:
Alright so I'm a highschool student and theres two people from the school who have repeatedly been assholes to me. I'm apparently some sort of game to them because they always find it necessary to do stupid shit to me and they've crossed the line.

I'm a pretty forgiving guy and I can ususally forgive people quite easily. But these two guys have done shit like this so much that I'm done with their shit and just want them to piss off.

I had just finished dinner and went to the computer and began redditing, you know like you do. My mom comes and tells me that two of my "friends" were at the door. So I get dressed and I go and outside. Before I go and further one of them goes on the same bus as me and knows where I get off and this is how they know where I live.

When I'm going outside I'm guessing its them, as my friends wouldn't come to my house without telling me in advance. My Mom tells me their in the front of the house so I walk out to the driveway and there is one of them. Hes acting really suspicious hes acting much nicer then normal and its only him and my mom told me their were two of them so I'm wondering where the second one is.

He goes and asks me if he wants to hang out and I tell him that he shouldn't of come to my house uninvited. He then proceeds to say "Come with me" to which I stay still until I notice hes going to the side of my house. I decide to follow him because I'm wondering why hes going to the side of my house. Then there is the other one and he has his phone pointed right at me.

I look and see that he has snapchat on and hes waiting to press his finger on the button, so I know somethings going on. They then proceed to blabber on about something in an attempt to distract me and then shout **"NOW"** and both pull out silly string and silly string the hell out of me and everything surrounding me.

http://i.imgur.com/jIobbvd.jpg

Now I'm just asking if this counts as vandalism and I could do something about it, because this is crossing the line.

**EDIT:**

I've decided to list the previous things they've done.

- Come to my house on my birthday and not leave when asked and then go around to another door to figure its unlocked and come into my house uninvited and I had to push them out. (My parents were currently out of the house at the time of when this happened)

- Prank call my nana pretending to employ her.

They've done other stuff as well which I'll list but the things above are the only things that I would consider to be potential crimes, these things are just asshole things they've done.

- Steal my study gear when studying for an exam half an hour before exams started.

- Filming me while mocking me.

If I remember anything else I'll list it. This has been going on for about two years.

Answer: It's not something you could realistically pursue via law, but definitely bring this up to your school. They could get punished even though it didn't happen at school. Bring it up with a student counselor and they'll let you know where to go from there.Answer #2: If they show up to the house and don't leave when you tell them to, call the police as they are trespassing at that point. If they steal from you or assault you then do the same and report it to the police as both of those things are crimes.


Title: Duped into making an illegal(?) Google search

Question:
So I was on a certain notorious imageboard (technically their new advertiser-friendly cousin) discussing murder cases. I asked for the background on one of these cases, and a user told me to Google an unfamiliar acronym for said background. Like an idiot, I went ahead and Googled it, only to discover that said acronym involved illegal pornography (the Google search only returned some sketchy looking gibberish links and an "ad" from Google warning me to flag/report said pornography if I came across it). I got his posts nuked for breaking U.S. law (after screenshotting it to cover my ass), but now I'm pretty spooked that this search is in my Google history... Am I going to get flagged or anything? Sorry if I'm overreacting, but I don't fuck around with this sort of thing.
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer: You're overreacting. 0th, no one cares about you. 1st, you can't just Google up child porn content. 2nd, if you googled some term that's related to that, so what – valid (perhaps the main) purpose of googling terms is to learn what they mean. 3rd, no one cares about you. 4th it's an acronym? Could mean lots of things, could be you mistyped something else, could be you clicked a link to that search, could be you were on a message board and someone told you to. Point is, this search undoubtedly happens for benign reasons...a lot. 5th, no one cares about you.


Title: I was hit by a car, what can I do?(Pennsylvania)

Question:
Me and the store security guard(let's call her Amy) were chasing a female customer across the parking lot, for shop lifting. As soon as she got into her car, Amy stood behind the car, and instructed me to stand in front of it. The customer then full speed reversed into Amy, then went forward and hit me as fast as she could accelerate in a 3 foot gap. The police were called and the customer was arrested at her house, after we located her address by walking to the mcdonalds she worked at (she was in uniform)
 when they officer asked for my id, and the rest of my information, he asked me if I was injured. Currently I have a nerve problem in my left elbow, and after this incident, it was been noticeably worse, due to the soreness, I explained this to the officer. The officer informed me I was going to be mailed a subpoena and will need to appear in court. The thing is I'm 17 and I'm not really sure where to go from here. Can I be compensated? Can I sue? Any help will be appreciated, and additional info will be added if needed.

Answer:
 You can sue the person who illegally assaulted you for the amount of the damages you suffered.

I'm surprised that your company allows you to pursue shoplifters out of the store.  Many places prohibit that for just this reason.

Most stores here would fire employees for that... I'm glad you're okay.


Title: A policeman made a mistake when writing my ticket. Is there anyway to fix it besides going to court? I can't miss work.

Question:
I was driving without my lights on. A policeman wrote me a ticket for it.

I was going to just pay it because I did do it, except the ticket says it was on a highway when in reality it was on an extremely well lit residential street.

The policeman told me if I go to court the judge would most likely not make me pay or at the very least reduce the fine significantly. But I just started a new job and have no vacation to take for a court day. Is there anything else I can do?

Answer:
 > except the ticket says it was on a highway when in reality it was on an extremely well lit residential street.

"Highway", in legal parlance, denotes nearly any street that cars can drive on.  It doesn't automatically mean a limited-access single-direction roadway.
 If you were driving on a public street, you were legally driving on a highway.


Title: Car was stolen from paid parking lot and is now impounded and will cost me $275+. Fine print in op.

Question:
All vehicles our parked at owners risk. No liability is assumed by management for loss or damage by fire, theft, or any other cause to, or by the vehicle while in custody of management. All claims must be presented before vehicle is taken from facility. Any person driving becomes the agent of the owner solely. We are. It responsible for articles left in vehicle or mechanical problems.

Background: left car with hotel valet to park for a few days. I came back and car was stolen and then impounded. I'd like to not pay the $275+ obviously. Do I have any recourse or am I SOL?

Edit: hotel was more than happy to reimburse me for the issue

Now to try and find out who did it

Answer: Pay the fine and ask for the hotel to cover some or all of the expenses, how does a car get stolen from the valet? This is a customer issue, contact the highest hotel management. If it was negligence on their part, you might have a claim. Answer #2: Unless you can prove negligence on the part of the lot then you are out of luck here.


Title: So yesterday I was let go from my job at my One-Year review mark, but one week ago I got in a workers comp accident where I had to go to the hospital. Sue-worthy?

Question: So yesterday I was let go from my job at my One-Year review mark, and the only reason they are firing me is because I am not at the level that they want me to be at, at the one year mark. One week ago I got in an accident at work and had to use workers comp. and go to the hospital. I don't believe they are related, but what should I do in this circumstance? Is it a sure fire sue-situation? I like everybody there but if it's a sure fire thing sometimes you aren't left with many other choices.

Answer:
 If you think you were fired as a retaliation that you filed a worker's comp claim, you may have case. You didn't list your location, so no one has any idea of what the remedy would be. Answer #2: You have no losses as long as they are taking care of your injuries. Just because you were terminated doesn't mean they're no longer liable.

In short, you have no reason to sue anyone right now.


Title: Unlawful Termination in a Right-to-Work state?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 "Right to work" means you can't be forced to join a union.

The relevant thing here is "at will" employment.

And they can fire you to get back at your dad.

Or because you drive a green car.

Or because you like the Celtics.

Or because you've never read "Harry Potter."

Or for any other reason that's not being part of a protected class (religion/race/etc.)

File for unemployment but they didn't illegally fire you.


Title: Towing company next door keeps blocking us in and obstructing our sight to on-coming traffic. What are our rights?

Question:
Hey, all! Washington, PA here.

I would appreciate all and any advice. I'm a little worked up right now as I almost got t-boned pretty hard about 10 minutes before writing this.

First, we rent our house from my parents. Moving is NOT an option. I know it's an easy suggestion, but, it's not feasible. We simply can't afford to.

It's hard to describe how the property is set up, but essentially we are closed in on all 4 sides. I have included a crappy picture I made in paint. Front and back are a stream (front) and woods (back). Left is my dad's large factory and right is a towing company (it's honestly more like a junk yard that does towing services).  We have a right of through way through the towing company to get to the road. There's no way through on any other side. Our only way out is through the towing company's property. We don't own the land our driveway is on, but my mother describes it as a "right of through way" where he has to allow us access and can not block our driveway. Is this correct?

On either side of our "driveway", he has us packed in with broken down cars, industrial junk and tires. There's an ugly, over grown fence on one side that is broken and hanging out into our driveway. It's scary and looks like it could crash down at any minute.

We once had to spend an hour having him move his junk and push the fence back up so a mattress could be delivered (the truck couldn't fit).  It was all back by the next week. We've often had packages go undelivered as well.

Rescue vehicles can NOT fit through this. Actually, they can't even SEE our driveway to find us. I had a popcorn accident (I caught it on fire, whoops!) and the fire truck couldn't find us at all. Had I not been able to put it out myself, we would be homeless now. My father spoke with the neighbor about this and nothing has changed. We now have a fire extinguisher for each room. I am so scared of this happening again.

I'm constantly worried something will happen to us and an ambulance can't find us/fit through in time.

He regularly has us blocked in with his customers' cars/junk cars. We have to sit and honk our horns and someone comes out and moves it. This is especially annoying when we're trying to pull in off of the busy road. Traffic is held up and it's embarrassing/dangerous. On two occasions, he's had us blocked in overnight when no one is there to move the vehicles. He told us, "the keys are always on the driver seat. Just move it". Um, NO! I'm not assuming any liability moving those cars. Plus, if my house is on fire...I'm having a heart attack...etc. this isn't even an option.

He also has all his junk/cars blocking our view of the road on one side making turning out of our driveway almost impossible and absolutely dangerous. It's a busy road and with a 45 mph limit. His large trucks are parked all the way to the edge of the road and bumper to bumper. There's no sight through them. I have to look through the cars' windows and almost guess that traffic is clear... Hence me almost getting t-boned at 50 mph. Thank God the other lane was open and the other guy was able to swerve!!! Me and my daughter could have been seriously injured.

He also has 4 cars parked on our property. My mother has asked him multiple times to remove them.

He's always cordial and says, "of course!" to all of our requests, then just does nothing. I've asked my husband to speak with him (I'm a hot head, he's not), but I already know it won't accomplish anything.

What can I do??? Is he even doing anything illegal? Who do I report him to? I was thinking maybe a lawyer could draft a cease and desist letter outlining the related laws? Can we request the municipality put up one of those circular mirrors so we can safely pull out? I don't know. I'm just so fed up.

http://imgur.com/tPunSti

Answer:
 Well, the first thing is to determine if you have an actual easement to access his property like you are currently doing. That would typically be recorded to the deed of the towing company and you can check with your county clerks office to make sure. An easement would spell out what rights you have to accessing the property and his blocking the path and now allowing proper access could be actionable. That would make things easier.

However, considering your father also appears to own property next to the land I think that might be less likely. So you might have an implied easement. That get's a little more tricky. In order to legally force him to keep the right of way clear you would first have to force a easement. The tow company owner could argue that the house is not landlocked since the same owner owns land already attached to the property and it's just a matter of installing a driveway.


Title: Intrapment by P.O.?

Question: I did a drug test with my p.o.  he said that i am positive for meth.  Asked me if i used anything.  A week before i did use klonopin, and i told him that.  He gave me back a cup and told me to dump it.  When i looked at the result, i had a fade line under methamphetamine,  regardless the line was there.  I immediately said that my test was negative, but he replied that fade line means that drugs are still leaving my body.  That is not true and he does not have any cridentials to propose such thing.  As the matter of fact, nobody can since its the rule that any line, unless its an invisible line, means that test is negative.  But he told me, "well, either way you admitted to klonopine use":  does that sound like entrapment? If such thing is still exist.  Can P.O. Legally lue, or mistake due to lack of skills and knowledge? Once again, i know what part i played on this situation.   I also know that i broke the law thats why im on probation.   I am asking a specific question,  was what HE DID legal?  I will very appreciate a direct response.   Thank you for ur time

Answer:
 Entrapment involves being coerced by the state into committing a crime you would not otherwise commit, and then punishing you for that crime.

Being lied to and giving away information as a result is not entrapment.


Title: Does an adult ever have any standing to challenge their own paternity? [NY]

Question:
My mother and "father" were married and tried to conceive for many years to no avail. Eventually they gave up and my mother was artificially inseminated with anonymous donor sperm. When I was born, my "father" was put on the birth certificate. They are now divorced, if that's relevant.

My "father" physically and sexually abused me. When he wasn't abusing me, he acted in a parenting role. He was present in the home for my entire childhood.

We are now estranged. I want nothing to do with him. If I'm ever unconscious in a hospital, I don't want him to be able to show up and get in to visit me. If he decides to move to Pennsylvania, I don't want to get stuck with his bills. Most of all, if I have children (which I'm planning to) and then become incapacitated or die, I don't want him to have standing to try for custody.

Is there anything I can do? If I can prove he's not my biological father, can I challenge his paternity? I'm well into legal adulthood.

----------------------------

Thanks for your answers. I'll be consulting with a family attorney sooner than later, and writing a very detailed will when I have kids.

Answer: Adult adoption is a thing. Maybe get a new "dad"?


Title: Got caught shoplifting at khols in California and just received a civil recovery letter

Question: I'm 20 years old and this is the first time I have even tried anything like this the item I took was $30 dollars and it was returned unharmed. Police never showed up and the LP guy wasn't mad or anything super relaxed about the whole situation I signed two papers and was out of the store within 5 minutes. 2 weeks later I received my civil recovery letter for 325 dollars. Now I know what you all are going to say I deserve what happens to me I understand what I did was wrong this was the first time I even attempted something like this and will never do it again I feel horrible. I have read online that most attorneys tell there clients to ignore these letters as they are all bark and no bite they just want to scare you out of more money I was just wondering if any of you have ignored the letters and what has happened to you I'm a college student with a lot of student loans built up that I cant even afford as is please help me

Answer: If you are truly accepting your respinsibility for this you'll see that this is an expected consequence. Pay up in instalments and your problem will go away. Think yourself lucky. And forgive yourself, but maturity is defined by accepting responsibity.Answer #2: No I don't think most attorneys advise their clients to ignore them, that sounds like something people use as justification for not paying. You stole and got caught up. Pay your lumps. And remember the financial pain the next time you are tempted to steal.


Title: Legality of 18 year old dating a 16 year old in Pennsylvania?

Question:
As of right now my girlfriend is about to turn 16 and I am 17.  I will turn 18 during the Summer while she will be 16.  Legally in Pennsylvania will I be allowed to continue dating her?  Both my parents and her parents consent to our relationship since she turns 17 3 months after I turn 18.  Is this legal in the state of Pennsylvania?  I know the age of consent is 16 in Pennsylvania but I also know federally it is 18.  Would there be any repercussions to dating her within Pennsylvania or if we go on vacation together out of state?  I tried looking it up but I found conflicting information regarding Romeo & Juliet laws and age of consent.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer: Don't have sex with her in any state where the age of consent is above 16 and don't travel together with the intention of having sex outside of the state and you are generally fine.


Title: [KY]Can legal husbands new girlfriend really steal picures of my children from various social media and use them as hers

Question: Legal husband (not all the way divorced, he is refusing to sign) lives with his whore. They have no children together. Today I find out throuh one of his relatives that Whore is using pix of MY kids with captions like "my babies" and all- She hasnever met them or otherwise laid eyes on them. Is she basically stalking my kids? Is there anything I can do to stop this- besides deleting all of my social media? Can I legally obtain a protection order against her and him? She is posing no verbal threat but they are dead set on the kids (3 and 13 months) living with them and never seeing me again. I am terrified and angry. He is cheating on her and she is cheating on him and the home is not safe for the children and he refuses to see the children on a regular basis. The 13month old does not readily recongize his father and i feel that it is unsafe to let him have the kids without me present and I have a mortal fear that she will hurt my children out of spite. Help?

Answer:
 You should consult your lawyer about the important issues.  Pictures on Facebook are not an important issue.  Do what your lawyer says.

You can get both a divorce and custody orders without his signature, as I'm sure your lawyer has told you.


Title: Living in a Rental Property about to be Foreclosed

Question:
Throw-away account here. In two months or less, my home is about to be foreclosed upon. I rent a room to a landlord who has been good and trustworthy for years(really rare). Electricity and water is provided for. He says before he loses the property he'd be willing to sign a lease so that bank has to let me live there at least for the lease's duration. My landlord is old, he's letting me draft up my own lease basically. I've helped him write rental agreements for myself and others. He told me to make the the terms as I want. I'll be literally writing my own lease.

How much leeway do I have here to set my rent? Does the bank have to honor this lease? I'd imagine it'd have to be reasonable to a certain degree or the bank's going to take me to court. Should I pay in advance with my savings?

I live in Middle/Upstate NY. I've lost my job for now, collecting unemployment, so I don't think I could find another place to live on such short notice. I'm pretty scared. I have no family to just fall back on.

Answer:
 Google “ny apartment lease” and find PDF lease agreements. These are the type that would be used by small time landlords.

Modify terms as needed.


Title: US/AL Son was injured at a local gym. Looking for the right way to handle this even if the financial responsibility is ours

Question: There's a local obstacle gym that we pay a monthly fee for our son to attend.  He's 11.  There are trainers on staff for structured play time as well as "free play" where the kids can do the various obstacles at their leisure.  During free play, the trainers are suppose to wander through the obstacles observing the kids and making sure no one gets hurt. During free play time, my son fell from about 10 feet up and landed on the safety mat.  The way he landed shattered his elbow and broke his arm in two places.  This injury required immediate surgery to correct.  He now has wires holding his elbow together.  Another surgery will be necessary in a few months to remove the wires because his bones need to be able to continue to grow.  We have insurance but have had to pay the co pay on two emergency room visits as well as the surgery and follow up doctors appointments.  I've contacted their insurance company but the rep has been infuriatingly difficult to get in touch with.  I've spoken to him once out of 7 attempts.  I've spoken to a local attorney but they declined to represent me.  I'm not looking for a million dollar payout, but would appreciate help with the expenses I've incurred.  What are my options?  Will it just be classified as an accident and I eat the cost and move on?  Do I contact my insurance company and let them fight it out with the other?  We payed a premium for an inside gym with the proper safety equipment and a dedicated staff.  Both failed in this situation.  Just looking for a solid direction to move forward in. Thanks for any advice in advance.

Answer:
 What failed here? Your understanding that kids do things that cause them to break bones? If you want to sue you have to establish negligence on their part. Where is that negligence? The child was apparently climbing on a piece of equipment and fell off onto a mat that was there for the purposes of protecting kids who fell off that equipment. Because of physics, the rotation of the earth and anatomy, how your child fell caused this particular fall to lead to injury. There was probably a thousand falls onto that mat by other kids without an injury. There is no negligence here. You seem to think there is but you are being absurdly unrealistic.

Shit happens. It doesn't always lead to a payday. If you cant even get an ambulance chaser to take your case than that means that even these bottom feeders think there isn't enough to shake down an insurance company for a nuisance payment.

Take care of your kid, pay your co-pays and move on.Answer #2: > I've spoken to a local attorney but they declined to represent me.

A personal injury attorney looked over what happened and declined to take the case?  Did they tell you why?

Most gyms make you sign a waiver that will protect them against lawsuits.  Unless you can prove that the injury occurred due to intentional or reckless conduct by the gym/its employees, you may not be able to sue.


Title: Collectors contacting me but don’t own debt

Question:
Cross post from r/personalfinance

I’ve been working to improve my credit but unfortunately some accounts have closed unpaid.

I have been receiving texts from a furniture store this past month (20 times since October 3rd). Yesterday I received a text from a furniture store to settle a debt for $1,300 to prevent it from going to collections and they provided the phone number to pay.

 I didn’t want an account to go to a collection agency so I gave them a call.  I called and asked about it and they told me to call another another number.  I asked if I would be paying the store directly to settle it and not have it go to collections but they said it had already gone to another agency and that I couldn’t pay them. I asked why I was receiving those texts then but they had no answer.  They couldn’t tell me when it went to collections. The person didn’t have much information about the account at all in fact.

They texted again today with the same offer today. I was confused, and called back to see what was going on.  Once again they gave me the other number to call to pay.  I asked if it would be to the furniture store or another agency. They refused to answer saying I would have to call the number. So I asked again why I was receiving the text and who owns the debt. They refused to answer and simply said to call the other number.

The whole thing seems shady at best and potentially false advertising.  Thoughts on the situation?  Is it harrasment if they keep contacting me but don’t own the debt?  Will my clock start over again since I called?

Answer: Do you actually owe a furniture store $1300? If so, how long has it been since you last made a payment? Have you received a letter from a collection agency asking you to pay or dispute within 30 days? Google the number they want you to call, see what turns up.


Title: Girlfriend disowned by family, on a student visa and worried about deportation (OR)

Question: My girlfriend has been disowned by her family, she is on a student visa, F1 I believe. Because her family was sponsoring her going to school in the U.S. she can no longer attend the upcoming fall term of school and without attendance her visa will end. This has all happened in the last few days. We are trying to get a handle on it so that she won't be deported and we can hopefully get her a way to stay, as she wont have a place to go back to in her home country of Myanmar. we plan to get married and have heard that it can help get her residence easier, we are looking for any advise for where we can start and how to go forward in general.

Answer:
 > we plan to get married and have heard that it can help get her residence easier, we are looking for any advise for where we can start and how to go forward in general.

Screams immigration fraud.