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Leif.
Mar 27, 2005

Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester

Incredulous Red posted:

You're talking about the contract issue, where the CEO is taking an action in contravention to the consideration offered in the contract. Since the poster was released from his non-compete, whether or not it's presumptively unconscionable is irrelevant. But calling up another CEO and saying, "Yo, don't hire my laid off guys," has nothing to do with a non-compete, and it's probably some form of anti-competitive collaboration between the two companies.

This would be correct, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm specifically pointing out the possibility that because the CEO released the contract, but then took actions in direct opposition to that, there is the possibility that he would argue that the contract was never released in the first place (possibly through some sort of defect in the modifying contract), which would put the validity of the non-compete at issue.

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WhiskeyJuvenile
Feb 15, 2002

by Nyc_Tattoo
Who knows about false marking w/r/t patents because I got some nice lawsuits in holding but I need to know more.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

SWATJester posted:

This would be correct, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm specifically pointing out the possibility that because the CEO released the contract, but then took actions in direct opposition to that, there is the possibility that he would argue that the contract was never released in the first place (possibly through some sort of defect in the modifying contract), which would put the validity of the non-compete at issue.

But if he were arguing a defect in the release, he would sue the poster, and not just call up another CEO and ask him not to hire the poster.

Leif.
Mar 27, 2005

Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester
Which of those is less work and cost: suing the poster and getting an injunction? Or calling up the other guy and saying "Yo, don't hire any of my former employees. Thanks, wanna get coffee?"

WhiskeyJuvenile
Feb 15, 2002

by Nyc_Tattoo

SWATJester posted:

Which of those is less work and cost: suing the poster and getting an injunction? Or calling up the other guy and saying "Yo, don't hire any of my former employees. Thanks, wanna get coffee?"

Apparently the former, given the antitrust liability attaching to the latter!

TheBestDeception
Nov 28, 2007

Baruch Obamawitz posted:

Apparently the former, given the antitrust liability attaching to the latter!

Explain again how it eliminates competition or prevents new participants from entering into the market to compete. Because as far as I can tell, there are still two companies competing, whether or not this deal is agreed upon by the second employer.

WhiskeyJuvenile
Feb 15, 2002

by Nyc_Tattoo

TheBestDeception posted:

Explain again how it eliminates competition or prevents new participants from entering into the market to compete. Because as far as I can tell, there are still two companies competing, whether or not this deal is agreed upon by the second employer.

If you're not at least passingly familiar with antitrust law, this is a pointless conversation, because I'm being descriptive, not proscriptive.

sticky wizard
Nov 19, 2008

Not sure if this the right thread for this, so please direct me elsewhere if I've hosed up.

I'm in a bit of a situation I don't much care to be in. I've been working at an American University for approximately 7 months, and plan to leave in about 3 months to go back to graduate school (at a different university). Everything was going fine and dandy till I strained my back on the job. I was moving a very heavy piece of equipment using "proper" procedure and about 2 hours later my lower back did a big "gently caress you" and I've been in pain ever since. This was last Wednesday, I followed all the proper procedures (notify supervisor, fill out 'first report of injury' and get an initial appointment at the workers health clinic). The nurse there said I had a lumbar strain and gave me naproxen, a heating pad and put me on restricted duty. Since then, my back has gotten worse.

I have a meeting with an occupational health and safety representative the day after tomorrow to discuss how I managed to hurt myself; and earlier this evening I received a notice from a compensation claims management contractor with some important and complicated looking paper work. I'm relatively young and don't much care to be in this situation at all and would prefer it all just go away smoothly.

However, some of my more senior co-workers have advised me that if I'm not careful I could get screwed over. They said that the University will try to give me some small compensation and have me sign away my right to sue them and that I shouldn't accept anything until I talk to a proper lawyer, preferably one with a last name ending in "-stein" or "-witz". I'm leaving the job in a few months and I don't want to get hosed long term with a chronic back injury, but at the same time I don't want to get involved in some drawn out and painful process. I'm pretty ignorant on the whole situation really, so any advice would be appreciated.

dvgrhl
Sep 30, 2004

Do you think you are dealing with a 4-year-old child to whom you can give some walnuts and chocolates and get gold from him?
Soiled Meat

sticky wizard posted:

Not sure if this the right thread for this, so please direct me elsewhere if I've hosed up.

I'm in a bit of a situation I don't much care to be in. I've been working at an American University for approximately 7 months, and plan to leave in about 3 months to go back to graduate school (at a different university). Everything was going fine and dandy till I strained my back on the job. I was moving a very heavy piece of equipment using "proper" procedure and about 2 hours later my lower back did a big "gently caress you" and I've been in pain ever since. This was last Wednesday, I followed all the proper procedures (notify supervisor, fill out 'first report of injury' and get an initial appointment at the workers health clinic). The nurse there said I had a lumbar strain and gave me naproxen, a heating pad and put me on restricted duty. Since then, my back has gotten worse.

I have a meeting with an occupational health and safety representative the day after tomorrow to discuss how I managed to hurt myself; and earlier this evening I received a notice from a compensation claims management contractor with some important and complicated looking paper work. I'm relatively young and don't much care to be in this situation at all and would prefer it all just go away smoothly.

However, some of my more senior co-workers have advised me that if I'm not careful I could get screwed over. They said that the University will try to give me some small compensation and have me sign away my right to sue them and that I shouldn't accept anything until I talk to a proper lawyer, preferably one with a last name ending in "-stein" or "-witz". I'm leaving the job in a few months and I don't want to get hosed long term with a chronic back injury, but at the same time I don't want to get involved in some drawn out and painful process. I'm pretty ignorant on the whole situation really, so any advice would be appreciated.

I'm not a lawyer, however here are some common sense things you need to start thinking about.

1. If you were doing your job responsibly, then you didn't do anything wrong and the only thing you should be concerned about is getting your back healthy. Back injuries can very often stay with you the rest of your life, even if you start to feel better in the short term. You need to be sure you get the proper care for your injury first and foremost.

2. Do not sign any paper work, no matter how benign it may look to you, without consulting a lawyer. This doesn't mean you intend to sue your employer, but you do need to have someone knowledgeable look things over. As you admitted, you are ignorant on these things.

3. This isn't a lottery ticket. Not that you've indicated at all you think this way, but don't let your mindset start going there. Accidents and injuries happen, and in this case it doesn't seem like it's anyone's fault. Your work will cover your medical expenses to get you better. That's reasonable, and you shouldn't accept anything less and you shouldn't expect anything more.

4. This situation is here now, whether you want it to go away or not. The only thing you should want to go away is your back injury. Dealing with it is something you will have to do no matter what. If your employer isn't a dick, it won't be a long drawn out process, but there's always the possibility it could be. You need to be OK with sticking it out no matter what to make sure you are taken care of appropriately.

Sonic Dude
May 6, 2009
Quasi-legal question for a quasi-legal situation:

I've been receiving two emails a week from a company asking me to pay an "invoice" for a web hosting account that I canceled over a year ago. The "invoice" is dated on my cancellation date, and is for the six months after my account was (or should have been) closed. One emails comes from billing@[company].com, and the other comes from my email address, spoofed.

I've called, written (email and postal mail), and opened tickets in their billing system. All have been ignored. I opened one last ticket last night and was more than a little terse. I asked them, point blank, to stop harassing me.

Here's the response (emphasis mine):

quote:

The emails you receive are automated. We don't sit here sending out emails to piss you off, nor do we intentionally remove any return address to prevent the emails from being filtered. If we were actually trying to harass you, it's insulting to my intelligence to assume that's the best we could come up with. We'll do better.
The gently caress? Did he just threaten to "do better" at harassing me?

How do I stop these constant emails from a company (they're in MD, I'm in OH)? They're clearly trying to get me to sign up again by paying my "bill" and reactivating my account, but two emails every Monday for over a year is insane.

I don't want anything out of these guys (well, except to see the above rear end in a top hat fired). I just want to stop having to filter their email, and I want them to stop sending me poo poo. Does anyone know where I go next?

Sonic Dude fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Mar 2, 2010

entris
Oct 22, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post

Sonic Dude posted:

Quasi-legal question for a quasi-legal situation:

I've been receiving two emails a week from a company asking me to pay an "invoice" for a web hosting account that I canceled over a year ago. The "invoice" is dated on my cancellation date, and is for the six months after my account was (or should have been) closed. One emails comes from billing@[company].com, and the other comes from my email address, spoofed.

I've called, written (email and postal mail), and opened tickets in their billing system. All have been ignored. I opened one last ticket last night and was more than a little terse. I asked them, point blank, to stop harassing me.

Here's the response (emphasis mine):

The gently caress? Did he just threaten to "do better" at harassing me?

How do I stop these constant emails from a company (they're in MD, I'm in OH)? They're clearly trying to get me to sign up again by paying my "bill" and reactivating my account, but two emails every Monday for over a year is insane.

I don't want anything out of these guys (well, except to see the above rear end in a top hat fired). I just want to stop having to filter their email, and I want them to stop sending me poo poo. Does anyone know where I go next?

Best option: Improve your spam filter.

Other options:
Call the Maryland Better Business Bureau and lodge a complaint.
If they are owned by a parent company, call the parent company.
Post your story on Consumerist.
Change your email address.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

Sonic Dude posted:

Quasi-legal question for a quasi-legal situation:

I've been receiving two emails a week from a company asking me to pay an "invoice" for a web hosting account that I canceled over a year ago. The "invoice" is dated on my cancellation date, and is for the six months after my account was (or should have been) closed. One emails comes from billing@[company].com, and the other comes from my email address, spoofed.

I've called, written (email and postal mail), and opened tickets in their billing system. All have been ignored. I opened one last ticket last night and was more than a little terse. I asked them, point blank, to stop harassing me.

Here's the response (emphasis mine):

The gently caress? Did he just threaten to "do better" at harassing me?

How do I stop these constant emails from a company (they're in MD, I'm in OH)? They're clearly trying to get me to sign up again by paying my "bill" and reactivating my account, but two emails every Monday for over a year is insane.

I don't want anything out of these guys (well, except to see the above rear end in a top hat fired). I just want to stop having to filter their email, and I want them to stop sending me poo poo. Does anyone know where I go next?

Is there any chance that you actually owe this money?

Sonic Dude
May 6, 2009

Incredulous Red posted:

Is there any chance that you actually owe this money?
I do not.

I sent a written cancellation notice (per the terms of the agreement) over a month in advance. The day that my account was to be cancelled, I got an "invoice" for another 6 months (beginning with the then-current month, which had already been paid for with their "pay for the first/last month" system when I signed up).

All of my previous (real) invoices start with 9. This most recent one starts with a 1.
When I call in, I'm asked for my invoice number. I get about three numbers out of my mouth before I'm hung up on.

It's pretty apparent to me that this is a ploy to get another $72 out of me, but I'm tired of getting their emails. At this point (based on the rear end in a top hat's response), I'm willing to put a little effort into getting them to quit rather than just filter it. I'll look into a BBB complaint, but they already have an F due to refusal to respond to "Billing or Collection Issues" so I'm not thinking that will go anywhere.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

Sonic Dude posted:

I do not.

I sent a written cancellation notice (per the terms of the agreement) over a month in advance. The day that my account was to be cancelled, I got an "invoice" for another 6 months (beginning with the then-current month, which had already been paid for with their "pay for the first/last month" system when I signed up).

All of my previous (real) invoices start with 9. This most recent one starts with a 1.
When I call in, I'm asked for my invoice number. I get about three numbers out of my mouth before I'm hung up on.

It's pretty apparent to me that this is a ploy to get another $72 out of me, but I'm tired of getting their emails. At this point (based on the rear end in a top hat's response), I'm willing to put a little effort into getting them to quit rather than just filter it. I'll look into a BBB complaint, but they already have an F due to refusal to respond to "Billing or Collection Issues" so I'm not thinking that will go anywhere.

BBB does nothing.

Try this website under Maryland:
http://www.consumeraction.gov/state.shtml

MissConduct
Jun 20, 2008

Hardships are like training with lead weights...
When they come off, you go flying down the road!
I live in Louisiana. My employer is in Pennsylvania.
Someone from the state of Louisiana wrote a letter to my employer that was full of lies about me - things that I can easily disprove.

This was not in an email or spoken word but in a hard copy letter.
I'm considering suing them for Libel.

My question is since the third party is out of state, is this a matter for the state of Louisiana, the state of Pennsylvania or is this a federal matter?

Side question - is there a statue of limitations on this?

Harold Fjord
Jan 3, 2004
Internet says 1 year in Louisiana from the time of the offense, which is where you want to sue because that's where the defendant is. You can always sue the defendant in their home state because that state always has jurisdiction over them. Since you are there anyway it works out.

You'll want to sue them in state court, I don't know how it works in your state as far as districts and what not talk to a real lawyer.

Leif.
Mar 27, 2005

Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester
Were you damaged by those words? In some definable way, not just "they hurt my feelings", i.e. you got fired or something.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

MissConduct posted:

I live in Louisiana. My employer is in Pennsylvania.
Someone from the state of Louisiana wrote a letter to my employer that was full of lies about me - things that I can easily disprove.

This was not in an email or spoken word but in a hard copy letter.
I'm considering suing them for Libel.

My question is since the third party is out of state, is this a matter for the state of Louisiana, the state of Pennsylvania or is this a federal matter?

Side question - is there a statue of limitations on this?

It's a state court matter. Tort occurred in Louisiana since the letter was (presumably) written and mailed there.

WhiskeyJuvenile
Feb 15, 2002

by Nyc_Tattoo

Incredulous Red posted:

It's a state court matter. Tort occurred in Louisiana since the letter was (presumably) written and mailed there.

I'm rusty on my civ pro, but it can't be correct that he couldn't sue in Pennsylvania, could it?

Leif.
Mar 27, 2005

Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester
I'm not actually clear on who is where, but --- bolded section.

quote:

Pennsylvania Long-Arm Statute
42 Pa. Consol. Stat. Ann. § 5322
§ 5322. Bases of personal jurisdiction over persons outside this Commonwealth
(a) GENERAL RULE.-- A tribunal of this Commonwealth may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person (or the personal representative of a deceased individual who would be subject to jurisdiction under this subsection if not deceased) who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action or other matter arising from such person:
(1) Transacting any business in this Commonwealth. Without excluding other acts which may constitute transacting business in this Commonwealth, any of the following shall constitute transacting business for the purpose of this paragraph:
(i) The doing by any person in this Commonwealth of a series of similar acts for the purpose of thereby realizing pecuniary benefit or otherwise accomplishing an object.
(ii) The doing of a single act in this Commonwealth for the purpose of thereby realizing pecuniary benefit or otherwise accomplishing an object with the intention of initiating a series of such acts.
(iii) The shipping of merchandise directly or indirectly into or through this Commonwealth.
(iv) The engaging in any business or profession within this Commonwealth, whether or not such business requires license or approval by any government unit of this Commonwealth.
(v) The ownership, use or possession of any real property situate within this Commonwealth.
(2) Contracting to supply services or things in this Commonwealth.
(3) Causing harm or tortious injury by an act or omission in this Commonwealth.
(4) Causing harm or tortious injury in this Commonwealth by an act or omission outside this Commonwealth.

(5) Having an interest in, using, or possessing real property in this Commonwealth.
(6)(i) Contracting to insure any person, property, or risk located
within this Commonwealth at the time of contracting.
(ii) Being a person who controls, or who is a director, officer, employee or agent of a person who controls, an insurance company incorporated in this Commonwealth or an alien insurer domiciled in this Commonwealth.
(iii) Engaging in conduct described in section 504 of the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L. 789, No. 285), known as The Insurance Department Act of 1921.
(7) Accepting election or appointment or exercising powers under the authority of this Commonwealth as a:
(i) Personal representative of a decedent. (ii) Guardian of a minor or incapacitated person. (iii) Trustee or other fiduciary. (iv) Director or officer of a corporation.
(8) Executing any bond of any of the persons specified in paragraph (7).
(9) Making application to any government unit for any certificate, license, permit, registration or similar instrument or authorization or exercising any such instrument or authorization.
(10) Committing any violation within the jurisdiction of this Commonwealth of any statute, home rule charter, local ordinance or resolution, or rule or regulation promulgated thereunder by any government unit or of any order of court or other government unit.
(b) EXERCISE OF FULL CONSTITUTIONAL POWER OVER NONRESIDENTS.-- In addition to the provisions of subsection (a) the jurisdiction of the tribunals of this Commonwealth shall extend to all persons who are not within the scope of section 5301 (relating to persons) to the fullest extent allowed under the Constitution of the United States and may be based on the most minimum contact with this Commonwealth allowed under the Constitution of the United States.
(c) SCOPE OF JURISDICTION.-- When jurisdiction over a person is based solely upon this section, only a cause of action or other matter arising from acts enumerated in subsection (a), or from acts forming the basis of jurisdiction under subsection (b), may be asserted against him.
(d) SERVICE OUTSIDE THIS COMMONWEALTH.-- When the exercise of personal jurisdiction is authorized by this section, service of process may be made outside this
Commonwealth.
(e) INCONVENIENT FORUM.-- When a tribunal finds that in the interest of substantial justice the matter should be heard in another forum, the tribunal may stay or dismiss the matter in whole or in part on any conditions that may be just.

WhiskeyJuvenile
Feb 15, 2002

by Nyc_Tattoo
Yeah, and I'd rather kill myself then think about choice of law so have fun

Leif.
Mar 27, 2005

Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester
It's not entirely clear also why you'd want to sue in PA instead of LA, and you haven't mentioned nearly enough facts to determine whether the elements for libel could be pled.

Schitzo
Mar 20, 2006

I can't hear it when you talk about John Druce

SWATJester posted:

Were you damaged by those words? In some definable way, not just "they hurt my feelings", i.e. you got fired or something.

In some jurisdictions damages are presumed.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

Baruch Obamawitz posted:

I'm rusty on my civ pro, but it can't be correct that he couldn't sue in Pennsylvania, could it?

SWATJester posted:

I'm not actually clear on who is where, but --- bolded section.

I'm still taking CivPro, so I couldn't say for certain. But IIRC, libel requires a false statement and a publication of that false statement. Writing and sending the letter in LA would fulfill both requirements, so you could definitely get the letter writer there.

You could probably get him in Pennsylvania under their long arm statute, too, but then it seems like you get into issues with (1) is the OP actually employed in Pennsylvania or in Louisiana?; and (2) if he, say, lost his job, did the harm occur in Pennsylvania or in Louisiana?

Anyway, I think Louisiana is one of the few states that still has a defamation criminal statute. God knows if it's still enforced, but if it is, poo poo, bring the case in Louisiana and make additional trouble for the letter writer.

WhiskeyJuvenile
Feb 15, 2002

by Nyc_Tattoo

Schitzo posted:

In some jurisdictions damages are presumed.

The presumed damages may be nominal, however.

dogbox
Mar 19, 2007

Give me back my stick.

Grumpy Paralegal posted:

To continue with the situation above, the boss in question is now sending harassing text messages, late at night. Does this add anything to the situation?

So, do you Yanks not have an equivalent to Wrongful Dismlssal, constructive dismissal and the implied term as to trust and confidence in employment contracts?

(In the UK, most of the £££ in employment cases arises from claims in 'Unfair Dismissal': a statutory right not be fired in inequitable circumstances. There remains, however, the common law right to claim a breach of the employment contract, aka a claim for 'Wrongful Dismissal'. This also covers the situation where an employeee quits, but then argues that it was the employer who repudiated the employment contract (usually by an alleged breach of the implied contractual term not to act in such a manner as would undermine trust and confidence with the employee) and that the employee, by quitting, merely accepted this repudiation; because the employee was entitled to accept the repudiation and quit, he may claim that he was really 'constructively dismissed' and then sue the employer as if he had been expressly sacked from his job)

Solomon Grundy
Feb 10, 2007

Born on a Monday
Why are you people debating whether or not suit could be brought in PA? All of the parties live in LA. Why on earth would the plaintiff choose to travel hundreds of miles to prosecute a lawsuit? :psyduck:

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

dogbox posted:

So, do you Yanks not have an equivalent to Wrongful Dismlssal, constructive dismissal and the implied term as to trust and confidence in employment contracts?

(In the UK, most of the £££ in employment cases arises from claims in 'Unfair Dismissal': a statutory right not be fired in inequitable circumstances. There remains, however, the common law right to claim a breach of the employment contract, aka a claim for 'Wrongful Dismissal'. This also covers the situation where an employeee quits, but then argues that it was the employer who repudiated the employment contract (usually by an alleged breach of the implied contractual term not to act in such a manner as would undermine trust and confidence with the employee) and that the employee, by quitting, merely accepted this repudiation; because the employee was entitled to accept the repudiation and quit, he may claim that he was really 'constructively dismissed' and then sue the employer as if he had been expressly sacked from his job)

Some states have constructive dismissal.

carlcarlson
Jun 20, 2008
I got a speeding ticket last week, and it says that I must "Appear On or Before 03/06/2010". Which I feel is misleading because March 6th is Saturday, and the court is only open Monday through Friday. What happens if I try to show up on Saturday and find out the court is closed. I'm in Texas if it matters.

For what it's worth I plan on going to court Friday to take care of this.

Groundskeeper Silly
Sep 1, 2005

My philosophy...
The first rule is:
You look good.

carlcarlson posted:

I got a speeding ticket last week, and it says that I must "Appear On or Before 03/06/2010". Which I feel is misleading because March 6th is Saturday, and the court is only open Monday through Friday. What happens if I try to show up on Saturday and find out the court is closed. I'm in Texas if it matters.

For what it's worth I plan on going to court Friday to take care of this.

Is it honestly misleading to you? The ticket gives you two options, expects you to figure out which of the options is more doable (or more favorable to you, if they're both doable), and then to do that option.

carlcarlson
Jun 20, 2008

Groundskeeper Silly posted:

Is it honestly misleading to you? The ticket gives you two options, expects you to figure out which of the options is more doable (or more favorable to you, if they're both doable), and then to do that option.

Isn't it misleading if it says I can take care of it on 3/6/10 and they're not open and I really can't? I'd like to think that something that possibly involves issuing a warrant would be a little better thought out than this. I'm certainly not going to try and test it to see where that gets me. But I wouldn't be surprised if other people have been tripped up by the error.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

carlcarlson posted:

Isn't it misleading if it says I can take care of it on 3/6/10 and they're not open and I really can't? I'd like to think that something that possibly involves issuing a warrant would be a little better thought out than this. I'm certainly not going to try and test it to see where that gets me. But I wouldn't be surprised if other people have been tripped up by the error.

Yeah, if they were tripped up, then they were pretty dumb.

Don't test it, go in by Friday, or if you can't make it by then call the court (at least a day in advance) and see if you can get an extension to appear

Alaemon
Jan 4, 2009

Proctors are guardians of the sanctity and integrity of legal education, therefore they are responsible for the nourishment of the soul.

carlcarlson posted:

Isn't it misleading if it says I can take care of it on 3/6/10 and they're not open and I really can't? I'd like to think that something that possibly involves issuing a warrant would be a little better thought out than this. I'm certainly not going to try and test it to see where that gets me. But I wouldn't be surprised if other people have been tripped up by the error.

Either on or before.

If "on" is not an option, guess which one you're expected to do?

Those of us in the legal profession routinely deal with "on or before," and "the filing deadline was misleading because it's a Saturday" is a superb way to land yourself in front of the grievance committee.

Here's the secret, though. They don't teach us how to interpret "on or before" in law school. That's because it's really straightforward.

If "on or before" deadlines were genuinely misleading and technical, everyone would need an attorney to help them pay their tickets. This is not the case, because an iota of common sense resolves the apparent confusion.

Busy Bee
Jul 13, 2004
If someone is dealing with some cases in the US, with sentencing in a few months, could that person travel out of the country? My friends grandma is extremely sick and he needs to go to Japan to go see her. Would it be just as simple as his lawyer talking to the courts or would it be more complicated then that?

dorkimoe
Feb 16, 2007
Here is a doozy for someone to help me out with.

I work at the game store everyone loves to hate.

Recently LP came in and decided to do an investigation for fraudulent discount card use and employee discounts. The main reason they are there, I think is because of the recent stuff that has been stolen by a customer who has a magnetic key to open our locking wall pegs. But apparently they forgot to ask us about that and only care about this other stuff.

They are asking employees to "guess" how many times we have used a discount card for someone and the average amount saved. Some of us have been there for 4+ years, when we tell them we don't remember exactly they get mad and say guess or were getting the police involved.
Then when we do "guess" they calculate how many times we guessed with an average price guess and make pay that amount back. They take our debt cards and charge us right then and there. First of all the "discount card" isn't a perk for working at this store. Its available to the generally public. So if I wasn't an employee and wanted to post my card number online, I would be allowed to do so. I'm going to bring up in the meeting how the assistant manager worked 5 and a half hours without a break because he was working alone on Monday, which is Illegal in my state.

I'm the last employee left at the store who hasn't met with them. They tried to trick me and have me come in to work this week, I said no, Ill be in saturday when im scheduled. So im dragging this out and making the guy come back and work a Saturday to interview me.


Are they allowed to have us "guess" and just take our money like this. I decided I am not going to pay unless I get real proof that I did such things. As a part time employee, I dont even have the credentials to ring up an employee sale, so I couldnt have been giving discounts, but the manager used to use my employee discount number all the time for her friends, which isnt my fault.

InternetRulesLawyer
Feb 13, 2009
No, they cannot take your wages away or "set off" your wages against some imaginary debt they're saying you owe. Call the labor board for your state and report what they're doing.

JudicialRestraints
Oct 26, 2007

Are you a LAWYER? Because I'll have you know I got GOOD GRADES in LAW SCHOOL last semester. Don't even try to argue THE LAW with me.

InternetRulesLawyer posted:

No, they cannot take your wages away or "set off" your wages against some imaginary debt they're saying you owe. Call the labor board for your state and report what they're doing.

They can however fire him for an imagined or nonexistent slight.

InternetRulesLawyer
Feb 13, 2009

JudicialRestraints posted:

They can however fire him for an imagined or nonexistent slight.

Depends on whether it's an "at will" state, although it probably is. They cannot fire him for whistleblowing on them to the labor board for illegal practices, however, and he could probably file suit for wrongful termination if they fired him in proximity to his report.

MissConduct
Jun 20, 2008

Hardships are like training with lead weights...
When they come off, you go flying down the road!

MissConduct posted:

I live in Louisiana. My employer is in Pennsylvania.
Someone from the state of Louisiana wrote a letter to my employer that was full of lies about me - things that I can easily disprove.

This was not in an email or spoken word but in a hard copy letter.
I'm considering suing them for Libel.

My question is since the third party is out of state, is this a matter for the state of Louisiana, the state of Pennsylvania or is this a federal matter?

Side question - is there a statue of limitations on this?

I was libeled in print. The party in question sent a hard copy letter to my employer who then forwarded it to me.
The person who wrote the letter signed their name in ink at the bottom.

The letter states several outright lies about me in which they call me - amongst other things - a criminal and they attempt to harm me within my profession.
I learned that the state of Louisiana recognizes something called "Defamation Per Se" which means:

The four (4) categories of slander that are actionable per se are
(i) accusing someone of a crime;
(ii) alleging that someone has a foul or loathsome disease;
(iii) adversely reflecting on a person’s fitness to conduct their business or trade;
(iv) imputing serious sexual misconduct.

The plaintiff need only prove that someone had published the statement to any third party. No proof of special damages is required.

I have contacted an attorney and I am in the process of filing in state civil court.

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InternetRulesLawyer
Feb 13, 2009
Well the damages are presumed, but are they nominal? Is it worth hiring an attorney and going through a suit, obtaining a judgment, and then trying to collect it out of state? Does the defendant have any assets at all, or it just some dickhead who doesn't like you who lives in an apartment and drives a 1989 Volkswagon?

Lots of people have good causes of action. That doesn't mean it still makes sense to file suit.

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