Need some advice b/c my lawyer is off till Monday

[BladeNV]

Yeah, I know this is a golf forum but I was wondering if any of you golfnut lawyers can give me a little help here.

Basically, one of my former employees is threatening to complain to the ministry of labour unless I pay her off. At first she said the payment was for hours I shorted her but when I asked her to justify the amount, she basically said: "pay up or else..."

Now I know I didn't short her but I don't want to be hassled by the ministry of labour either despite the outcome. What do you guys think I should do?

In my mind, this is extortion so I was considering having her arrested but ultimately, I just want this to go away because I have no time to deal with this nonsense.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

ps. I'll be calling my lawyer first thing Monday anyways but I wanted to get a headstart. And in case you were wondering, we corresponded through email so I have all of this on record and she even cc my other email accounts as well.

[The Bun]

Any kind of payoff may be viewed as an addmission of guilt. Give her an inch and she'll take a mile. Stand up and show her you got a pair.:D

-Bun-

ps. you should know that the only legal experiance I've had I lost my shirt to the ex:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:.....:(

[BladeNV]

Thanks for the pep talk ;) But I never intended to pay for the same reason you mentioned. Besides, blackmailers always want more.

Any advice is welcome as long some good "legal" advice eventually comes along.

[thekathrynorchard]

I would definately not suggest paying her without going through legal avenues should you ultimately decide paying her is the best option. If you pay her now she could flip the coin on you stating you both slighted her to begin with, and attempted to pay her off to avoid her going the legal route with it which could lead to another world of trouble. Ultimately I would talk to your lawyer, but wouldn't sweat it too much. It is likely far too much work and bother for her to go through the steps required to file a complaint.

[TourIQ]

Yeah, I know this is a golf forum but I was wondering if any of you golfnut lawyers can give me a little help here.
Basically, one of my former employees is threatening to complain to the ministry of labour unless I pay her off. At first she said the payment was for hours I shorted her but when I asked her to justify the amount, she basically said: "pay up or else..."

Try www.accidents4hire.com (http://www.accidents4hire.com) [they guarantee their work - leave no audit trail]
Then I found http://www.accidentsdohappen.com/ [New York area lawyers]

[golfinseb]

How many years has she been employed? Does she have any case with her complaints, or is there any reason the ministry of labour would have any case? I would say don't pay, tell her you have done nothing wrong. Contact your lawyer and see what they say.

There is no reason to fear the ministry of labour if you are not in the wrong.

The owness will be on her to prove her case against you. The reality is she probably cannot afford to take her case to court anyway, she is just being petty.

[BladeNV]

Try www.accidents4hire.com (http://www.accidents4hire.com) [they guarantee their work - leave no audit trail]
Then I found http://www.accidentsdohappen.com/ [New York area lawyers]
Hey, the first link doesn't work :rofl:

If it was the average normal person, I would just brush it off. But this person is more of your tree-hugging animal activist type mixed with a lot of :cookoo: Before I ruffle anyone's feathers, I have nothing against tree huggers or animal activists. I just want to illustrate that she is that "passionate". And like I said, I am not afraid of the investigation but I do not want to go through the hassle of one.

I've pretty much decided there is no way in hell I will pay. The only exception is if the payment would further incriminate her and make my case stronger. I read that extortion carries a possible jail term and I really don't want to be responsible for putting anyone but mass murderers and sex offenders behind bars. Who am I kidding - I don't want to be responsible for locking up a killer either because the first thing they'll do when released is come after me!!!

Funny thing is, I always wonder how other companies deal with these people. Now I get to experience it first hand!

[Mule56]

Yeah, I know this is a golf forum but I was wondering if any of you golfnut lawyers can give me a little help here.

Basically, one of my former employees is threatening to complain to the ministry of labour unless I pay her off. At first she said the payment was for hours I shorted her but when I asked her to justify the amount, she basically said: "pay up or else..."

Now I know I didn't short her but I don't want to be hassled by the ministry of labour either despite the outcome. What do you guys think I should do?

In my mind, this is extortion so I was considering having her arrested but ultimately, I just want this to go away because I have no time to deal with this nonsense.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

ps. I'll be calling my lawyer first thing Monday anyways but I wanted to get a headstart. And in case you were wondering, we corresponded through email so I have all of this on record and she even cc my other email accounts as well.

Blade,
Stop communication with her immediately. No conversation unless there are witnesses. No email at all. Get your attorney to send her the first letter that says all communications must be done through him.
****Edited addition****
I also forgot to tell you do not make mention of pressing charges against her. That will not go over well with the judge. Let your lawyer decide if that is a line of action to take and then send the sheriff to serve her.
Mule

[BladeNV]

Thanks Mule...at first I did consider telling her I may press charges. But after some thought, I realize that might give her the opportunity to back peddle and find some alternate means of causing trouble for me.

Moreover, my thought was that she should have filed a complaint to the ministry if she felt so strongly about her case rather than resort to blackmail. Likewise, I should just press charges rather than negotiate with her and hope she goes away.

I was planning to contact my corporate lawyer but do you think I should get in touch with a criminal lawyer instead? Btw, are you a lawyer?

[Mule56]

I was planning to contact my corporate lawyer but do you think I should get in touch with a criminal lawyer instead? Btw, are you a lawyer?

I would stick with the corpoarte lawyer. He can decide if this is a criminal case, based on the emails. At that point he may recommend an alternate.
No I'm not a lawyer, but I've worked closely with our corporate guy and have seen what sounds like almost the exact same issue unfold a few times.
I actually had a guy show up at my house and tell me that if he didn't get his job back, he'd present a legal nightmare for me until he had my job. The last thing the judge told him was he'd have 12 months less a day to think about his career change.
Mule

[nearace]

sir if you have done nothing inappropriate let her try her best , dont let her push u into anything without legal advice. best money i ever spent was on a lawyer.contractor issue.

[el tigre]

Yeah, I know this is a golf forum but I was wondering if any of you golfnut lawyers can give me a little help here.

Basically, one of my former employees is threatening to complain to the ministry of labour unless I pay her off. At first she said the payment was for hours I shorted her but when I asked her to justify the amount, she basically said: "pay up or else..." First of all, I'm not a lawyer but I did study labour law in university (many, many years ago but it hasn't changed that much).

If she was on salary, her claim is pointless. If she was paid an hourly wage, then as long as you paid what is on her time card then her claim is pointless. The onus is on her to prove the hours worked.

Now I know I didn't short her but I don't want to be hassled by the ministry of labour either despite the outcome. What do you guys think I should do? Forget about the Ministry of Labour. I'm guessing she was fired rather than quit - if this is all she can come up with then you have nothing to worry about. Even if she actually does complain, it will go nowhere unless she has some actual proof - and it sounds like this is all just a bunch of sour grapes.

In my mind, this is extortion so I was considering having her arrested but ultimately, I just want this to go away because I have no time to deal with this nonsense.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

ps. I'll be calling my lawyer first thing Monday anyways but I wanted to get a headstart. And in case you were wondering, we corresponded through email so I have all of this on record and she even cc my other email accounts as well. This isn't extortion - its just a scare tactic. You don't want to escalate the situation and have things get ugly.

Personally I wouldn't even waste the time to call my lawyer - its up to her to make the first move. But I suspect in your case it might be worth a phone call just to put your mind at ease. If she chooses to escalate things by actually filing a claim, just give it to your lawyer to handle.

[BladeNV]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the input.

I thought it might be extortion because she asked me to pay her an arbitrary amount if I want her to leave me alone. When I did research online, I mostly found info on US state laws. I know for some states, it is only extortion if the person gets what they are blackmailing for but I couldn't find much pertaining to our laws.

El Tigre - The employee actually quit on her own 2 months ago and I even gave her a good reference. The more I think about it, the more I believe she has a mental problem. My other fear is that her failed attempt to extract money will lead her to find an alternate way to get to me.

In any case, talking to you guys have made me feel better already. And like you said, I'll probably feel more at ease once I speak to my lawyer.

I'll definitely give an update if there are any interesting developments ;)

[jjgowland]

Document all the events / occurances and communications with this person. documents should include but not limited to dates, times, your memory of the events, dates, times.

Even if you start your journal now, your recollection of the sequence, reasons, your thoughts, along with the dates and times, will help you in sorting through any accusations the employee may have.

I believe you can also call the Ministry of Labour and ask for advice. There should not be any charge for this government service.

Make sure all your required government documents, such as employment insurance payments, health tax payments and tax deductions and 'end of work' documents to employment insurance for this person are up to date and complete. Be prepared with your personnell file on the employee's work experience is up to date.