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Daniel A Swedlow's Answers
- 28 Legal Answers
- 0 Legal Guides
2
Attorney answers:
Enforceability of non compete clause/agreement under WA state employment laws
Non-competes are limited to "a reasonable time and geographic space" under Washington law. Depending on the circumstances, a year could easily be reasonable.
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2
Attorney answers:
At will employment, is WA state an at will employment state, can employer fire me without just cause
There are a few more issues to consider here. Are you a member of a union with a collective bargaining agreement and termination procedures? Does your employer have a written employee manual that adresses termination? Is there anything in writing, email or even past conversations that might have changed the at will reality into a contract for employment? Was your termination really a retaliation for a protected activity? There are others. The bottom line is that while WA is...
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3
Attorney answers:
Foreclosure
Potentially forever, or at least 7 years. Avoid if at all possible. See http://www.afscanhelp.com/blog/2007/4/how-does-foreclosure-affect-your.cfm
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2
Attorney answers:
My former employer was called for a reference check and they said i never worked there
I would look into this further. Make sure your previous employer remembers you and this was not intentional. If it was an intentional lie about your previous work history, you may have a case for defamation of character (either libel or slander depending on whether the lie is written or oral) against your previous employer. There are several other legal theories that might work, and are at least worth asserting, in a case against your previous employer. This is only assuming the employer...
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2
Attorney answers:
How long can my employer keep me after my scheduled shift.
You are probably entitled to overtime pay and more breaks than you currently get. You should probably consult with a lawyer about your specifics because it doesn't sound like you are getting everything you are supposed to. For example, you are almost certainly supposed to be getting one additional 10 minute break and you should be getting time and a half after 8 hours of work in a day or 40 in a week. Sending you home early on the last day of the pay period would not be an effective way to...
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2
Attorney answers:
I was fired without warning. I never received any negative feedback, verbal or written. Do I have a defamation suit?
I am licensed in Washington and I agree with Mr. Taylor. You don't have a defamation suit. However, you could (read should) check with your previous employer and ask if it would be accurate to state on future applications that you were simply let go due to their lack of continued need for your services, aka laid off. Fired has such a negative connotation and it may not be the case that you were really "fired." It can't hurt to ask them if they would object to such a characterization.
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1
Attorney answers:
Can we charge a driver for fuel for abandoning a load??
Nope nope and nope. You cannot deduct, withhold or in any other way not pay the full amount of wages owed. You can, however, and should, bring a separate cause of action against the previous employee. Bring it in small claims court. Chances are you could get a default judgment and then garnish his wages at his next job if he doesn't pay. Unfortunately, even if he blatently stole money from you, even if he did it right in front of your face openly, you couldn't withhold wages as a setoff....
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1
Attorney answers:
Can a employer forece you to work when you have a phobia
If the Astraphobia is a legitimate disability, and it could be, the employer would have a duty to engage in a conversation about reasonable accomadation. There may or may not be a reasonable accomadation available during a thunderstorm (i.e. working from home, working inside, taking unpaid leave, etc.) Noboday can force anyone to work - that is called slavery. At the same time, your employer is generally, although not always, free to fire you for any reason or no reason at all. When...
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1
Attorney answers:
Raw land in Chelan-liability for fire
First and most importantly, do not throw the tree trunks off your property down an embankment to the county road under any circumstances. Second, whether you would be responsible for any fire damage that spread to their property from your dead tree is primarily dependant on whether you were negligent with regard to the tree. The case law in Washington generally holds that whether a land owner is liable for fire damage to a neighbor's property because of the landowner's failure to properly...
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4
Attorney answers:
Renters
I would like to add that realistically you are unlikely to recover enough from those renters to cover the attorneys' fees you are likely to incur suing them. Even if your lease allows you to recover attorneys' fees if you win, renters that trash a place when they leave are not usually the type of people that have enough assets to make it worth while to get a judgment against them. I would suggest that you keep their deposit, clean up the place and move on.
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