Hello I'm in need of some advise. I work for a dentist whom is verbally and physically abusive.

The female dentist I work for, for the past 2 months thinks it's okay to yell at employees and physically grab or smack my hands when she wants. She has no self control! After the incident with her smacking and grabbing my hand from the computer mouse, she lowered my pay by $1 per hour because she said she couldn't afford payroll and if I didn't sign a form agreeing to the lower wage, I'd no longer have a job. She really can't afford payroll, there been several times where our paychecks don't come for days past the due date. Also, I was told no one time pay would be paid but I had to stay a extra 30 mins to finish a task. It happens almost daily. I feel stuck because I need a job to feed my family but the emotional stress she's caused me is taking a toll on me.

Nathan’s Answer

You are looking at possible issues of wage and hour, as well as hostile workplace. There may be additional causes of action as well. Speak to a qualified employment law attorney.

After my retail manager refused to give me hours for next week I filed a claim with the ethics hotline. What should I do next?

This has been ongoing since Wed. of last week. It's now Tuesday. I called the store multiple times every day since that Wed. and I never got a hold of her, nor was it communicated that she made any attempt to put me on the schedule. Finally another manager got involved and gave me one shift. I believe the district manager made the schedule and left me out of it, and the store manager purposely ignored my requests. What should I do next? I'm afraid I'm being discriminated against because I'm plus-size and "don't fit the company image."

Nathan’s Answer

My colleagues dispense true general legal knowledge. Discrimination on the basis of weight, thus related to a class that is not protected (gender, age, race, religion) is usually non-actionable. It is best to seek other employment so that you have a heads up should this employment situation no longer work out for whatever reason. If you do not have a written agreement for employment for a term, you are an at will employee, and you can leave any time, just as employer can fire at any time. Wish you the best of luck.

I did not receive notice of surplus funds following the foreclosure of my home. Is it too late to get the funds.

My house was sold at a trustee's sale and I got notice from the court there was surplus funds. I never received notice that I needed to file a claim and the court turned the funds over to the state. Is it too late for me to notify the court that the funds should come to me? If not, what do I need to file?

Nathan’s Answer

The trustee should have provided the 1st notice. If it found no one, it will submit the funds to the court. If the court notifies you, you can petition the court to release the surplus funds. If you did not receive notice, the last step is to contact the California State Controller. Wishing you the best of luck - some of these surpluses can be quite sizable.

Looking for a malpractice lawyer that goes after insurance co. and attorney

workman comp ins co and workman comp attorney

Nathan’s Answer

Without recommending anyone specifically, I provide you with the below Avvo link for ethics attorneys in California. It is appropriate to contact 2 or more attorneys to gauge their experience and desire to represent you.

http://www.avvo.com/ethics-professional-responsibility-lawyer/ca.html

Is NOD, NOTS both defective and foreclosure sale void? and Trustee does not have authority to foreclose?

On 7/15/08, Trustee was Company X; on 02/02/11 Trustee Y records NOD; five months later SOT is recorded and Company Y becomes Trustee? 11/4/11 property was foreclosed, fought lender of several violations; lender rescinded sale but it took lender 4.5 yrs to record rescission? We got it rescinded, lender made several mistakes in rescission recordation. Tax records, title records was in lender's name. new Notice of trustee sale( NOTS) filed on 6/20/14. On 8/19/14 lender filed ‘foreclosure rescission’ for 11/4/11 sale. On 10/06/14 conducts sale again.1. Is NOD is defective, SOT didn't reflect Company Y; Y didn't have authority; 1. Is NOD defective 2. Is NOTS filed prior to '11/4/11 sale rescission,' defective? Rescission doesn't substitute property re-conveyance?

Nathan’s Answer

Was litigation filed on this matter previously? If so, and you were fortunate enough to receive a rescission, what is your specific question?

2 DRIVERS LICENSES IN CALIFORNIA

10/18/2014

IS IT LEGAL FOR 1 PERSON TO HAVE 2 DRIVERS LICENSES IN CALIFORNIA?

I know a person who holds 2 CDLs issued by the CA DMV. Is this illegal?

Nathan’s Answer

California Vehicle Code Section 12511.

No person shall have in his or her possession or otherwise under his or her control more than one driver's license.

Silent quitclaim, Substitution of trustee not properly executed, FHA loan never offered face to face meet. how did I loose this?

home was forclosed, buyer files UD, I file BK. month later I get copy of quitclaim mailed from county recorders.buyer finds out i know about quitclaim, buyer suddenly states in court hes the agent with letter from new owner stating approval of representation (never filed) 2 days later initial buyer states in BK court that he is the owner. I also discover Substitution of Trustee was not properly executed. JEFF STENMAN signed the document.

REBECCA A. BAKER was acknowledged by the NOTARY as the person who signed the Substitution of Trustee. STENMAN's signature was never notarized on the document, and consequently, Northwest Trustee did not have the authority or the power to conduct the sale. I had an FHA loan and was never offered a face to face meet. judgement in favor to plaintiff!!! why?

Nathan’s Answer

Foreclosure defense is best practiced BEFORE the foreclosure ever takes place. It is very difficult in California to overcome a home foreclosure due to technical mistakes especially after the foreclosure takes place and there is a 3rd party buyer. less so if the bank buys it back because no one purchases the property at auction. Buyers usually take as innocent purchasers so unless fraud could be proven, it would be very difficult to convince everyone to unwind the sale.

If you find out that your contractor had the wrong license (specialty) and so did not have a valid license, was he an employee?

It turns out that my contractor who did my electrical work only had a plumbing license.

This was a 5000 dollar contract.

This was done more than 4 years ago.

After I asked for a repair, I found this out.

I understand the ramifications of my being able to get my money back but I think I am liable for the EDD and other taxes because now that I know he did not have a "valid contractors" license, he was my employee based on labor code 2750.5.

I did not know he was not validly licensed at the time. Is there a way out of this or do I have to pay the EDD stuff?

Nathan’s Answer

There are many factors you'd want to go over with a licensed attorney.

Did this individual use his own tools, or did you supply them?

Did he have a business card or operate out of his own company?

Did you pay a set amount per hour/per day or did you pay by the job completed?

Did you tell this person when to come and leave specifically, or did this person take as much time as they needed to do the job without you interfering?

Most likely they were a contractor - responsible for their own taxes, that's a reason they're called contractors to begin with, they come in for a job, and leave. They are not employees. However, if this contractor somehow became an employee (it can happen) you may have to answer to the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement and a judge will determine what happened there.

DLSE judgments can be appealed to the Superior Court, much like small claims matters.

Research and clinical trials

My question is which government agency at the federal level deals with unethically conducted research and clinic trials involving our universities. Mainly the consent and adverse events and injury that results from such ..

Nathan’s Answer

In the US, the FDA (Department of Health and Human Services) is tasked with oversight by virtue of the fact they can conduct audits. This is why many American Pharmaceutical companies have moved some of their research overseas where the FDA conducts less audits than stateside.

The DEA (Department of Justice) can be implicated also, along with the following: United States Department of Agriculture; Department of Energy; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Department of Commerce; Consumer Product Safety Commission; International Development Cooperation Agency, Agency for International Development; Department of Housing and Urban Development; Department of Defense; Department of Education; Department of Veterans Affairs; Environmental Protection Agency; National Science Foundation; Department of Transportation.

For specifics, Title 21 of the Federal Code of Regulations, Chapter 1 is a good starting point.

Protection of Human Subjects (Informed Consent) (21 CFR Part 50)

Additional Safeguards for Children in Clinical Investigations of Food and Drug Administration-Regulated Products (21 CFR Parts 50 and 56)

Informed Consent Elements (21 CFR 50.25(c))

Exception From General Requirements for Informed Consent (21 CFR 50.23(e))

Financial Disclosure by Clinical Investigators (21 CFR Part 54)

Can someone go to law school and become a licensed attorney after a felony conviction?

I had two felony pc 452 counts expunged. I would like to become a attorney. Would any law school accept me? Would I actually be able to obtain a Licensed to practice law in California?

Nathan’s Answer

Felonies in California create a presumption that one is not fit to practice law. It is a presumption that can be overcome by the passage of time, volunteering, keeping your record clean and showing that you have remediated whatever issues caused you to be convicted. Expungements will have no effect on a moral character determination required to practice law as the administrative standard for finding you are of requisite moral character is not tied down by the high standard of evidentiary trappings as legal proceedings might be. Also, full disclosure would be necessary to any law school, so that you don't run into the issue of not being found of requisite moral character because of honesty issues. A consultation with an ethics attorney would be appropriate to assist you in styling any application for law school or to the State Bar of California. The attorney may also be able to help guide you in the right direction regarding what positive actions to take to strengthen your applications to either.

What should I do if attorney tries to extort more fees just before trial and threatens to loose if you don't pay him more money?

Attorney is on contingency in two separate cases. One case he won and attorney fees were awarded. He wants to take attorney fees as compensation but says I should pay him the attorney fees from monies I'm receiving from an escrow account and I should wait to be reimbursed from the attorney fees when they are collected. He told me that I wouldn't like the results in the second case that goes to trial in three weeks if I don't agree to amend our agreement to reflect this change.

Nathan’s Answer

You may ask the attorney to put that creative arrangement in writing. If they do, have another attorney review it. If your attorney refuses to put it in writing, you should seek another attorney immediately and perhaps report this attorney to the State Bar of California. This is the nuclear option and will only waste your time if it is not based on hard fact, so you want to make sure you did not misunderstand your attorney before taking such action.