Everyday Law in Everyday Terms You Can Understand

Many workers’ compensation plans state that you have to be treated by the insurance company’s doctor. However, the fine print oftens allows you to officially complain and request to see a doctor of your own choosing.  Additionally, if your injury is severe enough, you are usually allowed to get a second opinion.  In that case, you may see whomever you choose.  Note that in some states, there is a waiting period before you are allowed to see another doctor.  This is often 90 days, with their thinking that you won’t be needing a doctor after 90 days.  After the 90 days, you can switch over to your own doctor or health plan and the workers’ compensation insurance will have to cover all fees.

Many companies have company-sponsored events; from go-karting teambuilding, to company dinners.  If you are hurt during ANY company-sponsored event, you are eligible for workers’ compensation.  Do not let your employer tell you that you weren’t hurt while AT work so you aren’t covered.  Such events include business trips, work-related errands, and softball games.

For most people, workers’ compensation is dictated by your state’s laws. Workers’ compensation is a benefit provided to cover any work-related injuries you sustain. This benefit paid for by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance plan. However, not all employees are covered. Exclusions vary state-to-state, but in general, the following types of workers are not covered:

• Business owners
• Independent contractors
• Casual workers
• Domestic employees in private homes
• Farmworkers
• Maritime workers
• Railroad employees
• Unpaid volunteers

Federal workers are also excluded from the states’ defined compensation coverage and are covered separately by a federal law.

The United States participates in an international agreement with many other countries that allows visitors from those countries to legally drive in other countries.  You should check the embassy website of the countries you’ll be wanting to be drive in to see if they honor your American license.  If you are renting a car, some countries require an International Driving Permit.  This permit can be obtained through the American Automobile Association (AAA).  It simply requires a valid driver’s license and, of course, a “nominal fee.”  If you’re going to be stayign for an extended period of time, it’s best to go ahead and get the IDP.  You never know when a country will consider your “visit” to be “permanent.”

Don’t drive!  Cops really really really hate this.  If you have a suspended or revoked license and are caught driving, you are basically flaunting the law.  Judges aren’t fans of this either.  If you are pulled over, you will most likely be arrested on the spot.  There is usually a huge fine (> 1K) and possible jail sentences.  It may even be filed as felony, thereby tainting your record.

Per the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal minimum wage is $5.85/hour.  That statement is a bit misleading due to the fact that there are exceptions within this law.  The two most common exceptions are for those jobs that pay tips and for young workers.

If you’ve ever worked at a summer camp and then looked at your pay stub to figure out how much per hour you were getting, you probably got a shock when you found out that it was less than minimum wage.  The youth minimum wage is in fact $4.85 if the following criteria are met:

• The employee is over 20 years old
• The lower wage is only paid during the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment
• The work does not displace other workers

The minimum wage for a worker who receives tips (e.g. busboy) is $2.13.  Pretty sad, eh?  The following criteria must be met:

• $2.13 + tips >= $5.85
• The employee gets to keep all the received tips
• The employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30/month in tips

If even after the above, you still don’t make the equivalent of $5.85/hour, your employee must make up the difference.  If business is slow and you start noticing that it’s not working out to $5.85, then start keeping track so that you have some ammo when you ask your boss for the difference.
Overall, considering that many states have minimum wage laws that are much more generous, both of these laws are pretty arcane.  If having to pay someone $5.85/hour instead of $2.13 (a whooping $3.72/hour difference) is going to make or break your business model, you’ve probably got problems.  Plus, $5.85 is pretty much impossible to live off of.  I guess the federal government has to set regulations that are palatable by the lowest common denominator state.

What should you do if your landlord refuses to maintain the property according to the rules of your city or state? Sue! Actually, before you jump to the courthouse, there are several things you can do - many of which are more effective and cheaper than hiring a lawyer.

First, you can pay less rent or withhold your rent until the repairs are made. You could always make the repairs yourself, either you actually repairing it or you hiring a contractor to repair it, and deduct the cost of the repairs from the rent. You could also call a local building inspector, who can order the landlord to make the repairs. Finally, you can simply terminate the lease and leave.

Ultimately, before you take any action, check with local laws to ensure that they match what has been written above. Each area has slightly different laws in terms of what a tenant can and should do, maintain compliance with that first.

A landlord must repair and maintain a home such that it satisfied “basic habitability requirements.” Those basic habitability requirements are adequate weatherproofing; available heat, water, and electricity; sanitary and structurally safe building. The property must also be in compliance with local building and housing codes and some cities require smoke detectors as well as security measures such as locks. Each state, city, and county will have varying rules on this so you’ll have to check with your local rules to ensure compliance.

If you live in an apartment complex that only has one cable provider, you have no legal basis to force your landlord to offer up an alternative. In many instances, your landlord may have negotiated a special agreement and discount with one cable provider and you benefit from that agreement. Sometimes the landlord picked one because it uses cable boxes and not ugly satellite dishes. Whatever the case, in residential areas, the landlord has satisfied the demands of the Federal Communications Act and you have no basis for a claim.

Verizon Fios was recently made available in our area but anyone renting their home must jump through a few legal hoops before they can get it. In order to process the fiber optic signal, a cable box must be installed outside the premises to interface with the new fiber optic cable. The installation of a cable box is considered an “improvement” and most leases will specify that alterations or improvements to the property must have the consent of the landlord (makes sense right?). However, the rules are different for telecommunications equipment and improvements!

The Federal Communications Act, passed in 1996, was passed to protect American’s access to information through cable or wireless. It also clearly states that a tenant can install boxes or antennas as long as they are located in the rented property and don’t pose a safety or structural danger, though a landlord may require renter’s insurance to protect against liability (they don’t know how good your construction skills are!).

I would recommend talking it through with your landlord before pulling out the FCA of 1996, you can usually resolve these issues without the use of law.