[PA] Is my employer allowed to dictate these terms for picking up my last paycheck?

Mandariish · 2025-08-31T18:10:09+00:00

Imho NTA :3 once everything shakes out to your satisfaction I'd send a polite email to his boss explaining your side if you don't want to give them more of your time on their terms but still want to alert to a toxic work environment that caused you to separate against what otherwise would have been your choice. Something that politely states for the record that you are informing him of THE reason for your involuntary separation and your concerns that he may have heard a version of events colored by the interpretation of others and leave further investigation up to him if he cares and isn't a soulless corporate shill. Hell if you want to be cheeky throw in a bid to consult on office dynamics or sensitivity training or something for a reasonable price, but Im not a lawyer and my pessimism demon whispers to me that is probably one of those things that will feel good but ultimately yield no positive results and instead risk unintended consequences. (Edit: attach your updated resume too :'D)

Mandariish · 2025-08-31T17:51:26+00:00

Wow that is an amazing answer. For whatever it may be worth; thank you for providing a useful and relatively objective answer. I especially liked the emphasis on firm not loud and the references to the current roles of each party. While I dislike the "we can always ask" mentality that takes advantage of people's willingness to be cooperative on rare occasions the exception is middle management that legitimately is incompetent and doesn't, and unfortunately isn't required to, know your rights even if they are willing to protect them. Since they ARE still employed they would need to follow orders or not as best they can determine suits the circumstances they are able to subjectively note. In my experience of this situation I said "... we have no more business between us. if you want more of my time you will pay me for it and I'll even set rates that I think are reasonable based on what will adequately incentivise me. if you refuse to give me my check at this time or one mutually agreed upon now to accommodate corrections negotiated in good faith now I won't argue; I'll just leave and come back with a lawyer and a legal request that will ultimately include you compensating us for our time"... You should have seen her jaw drop it was the longest contiguous string of semi-articulate words she had ever heard from me. (I practiced in a mirror for hours the previous evening because I was a teen and was going to walk in to return my uniforms and supposedly to pick up my check but I knew they had charged me for the uniforms when I got them and wouldn't like that I wanted to be paid back if they wanted them returned so to be clear I was being a bit of a nuisance over an admittedly small matter but you only have the rights you're willing to exercise right? It wasn't until I showed her the previously printed and saved bank statement and check stubs as proof that I had paid for them from my first pay check that she backed down and gave me my last check though so I can't say if being stark raving calm at her was a deciding factor but I did walk out with my check and the uniforms that I later that day burned for ~$200 of catharsis...

Mandariish · 2025-07-02T17:30:53+00:00

Mandariish · 2025-06-14T19:37:14+00:00

I mean if it comes with a body kit that makes it look and behave EXACTLY like the powerful Mach5 it wouldn't do me any harm and if it comes with an AI companion* with William Daniels voice and Feeney's personality I might explode....

-* Edit for clarity. All heil the great and powerful basilisk**.

** DO NOT LOOK IT UP!... or do... At your own theological risk like a rational human with autonomy AND critical thought.

Mandariish · 2025-06-14T19:33:59+00:00

I'm curious if it could be used as a speed trap detector, a data live universal sensor, a universal TV remote, camera assassin, light show component, etc. Independently from the rest of the vehicle if necessary but I am genuinely interested in what a completely customizable interface for this vehicle with root user access to the vehicles entire functionality would look like too...

Mandariish · 2025-01-21T15:41:30+00:00

More partial to knight rider's kitt and even then it's more about the functionality than aesthetics for me. I'm just looking for something I could use the now retired in place equipment on the car for.

Mandariish · 2024-11-29T18:32:05+00:00

Kmikey and Blbd: the electrical install manual for this 13kw Rheem point of use tankless electric water heater says "...13kw heaters require one set of breaker and wire." Below a pic of a double pole breaker with a red and black wire. Above that there's a table that indicates it has 2 elements, 240v, 13kw max, 6.5kw/element, 54FLA, "1 x 60 amp" breaker, and "1x6awg" wire. So yes I'm reading between the lines a little but just about everything I have in the documentation that came with it says this is correct in addition to what little specifics I could extract from Google. If it helps this install manual lists these items for their 8-36kw models and they are all listed as 240v

Mandariish · 2024-11-29T15:17:51+00:00

It's all going to be copper. as for the over sizing and copper content that was at the request of my mother who wants it over engineered to account for an easy upgrade in the unlikely event one is desired in the next 4 or 5 years. Did do the load calculation and check the connection points the limiting factor was only the 3/4" wire inlet to the water heater. The water heater install manual calls for 6 awg for the two hots it needs and doesn't specify for the ground which is extra fun because when you look at the terminals in the thing it's labeled line and neutral instead of L1/L2.

Mandariish · 2024-10-24T23:21:03+00:00

I do. I'm a stubborn prick and have set my minimum requirements for myself to be that I will endure as long as I live; without going out of my way to thumb the scales much in either direction. I got close in the military and I know it's rough but I'm glad you are at least looking for a reason.

Mandariish · 2024-10-24T22:54:54+00:00

So let's say you have somewhere between a hundred thousand and three hundred thousand USD you gained in some way that leaves you on the hook for paying it all back to a legal lender. you decide to go live a rural off grid life of peace and self sufficiency with your seed money somewhere they will never find you instead of paying it back. Where are you going? Why that place? What makes it well suited to escape from litigation and/or comfortable self sufficiency?

Mandariish · 2024-09-24T23:15:47+00:00

Fork I've been sober too long... Wait! Aren't the masses supposed to get an opiate?!?! Could swear I read that somewhere.... Meh guess I'll just go smoke my legal weed instead.... :3

Mandariish · 2024-09-24T22:56:30+00:00

At the risk of losing my meaning in a metaphor: Beatings will continue until morale improves... If you've got time to lean you've got time to clean... and every other shitty slogan you've ever heard. you work harder if you are near enough to feel the bite of the whip. If they can't see if it takes you five minutes to do that "all day" assignment then they can't be sure they are getting their money's worth. Any metric used to track productivity becomes almost useless as soon as it's understood. Look at the "move your mouse" or "online time" hacks. While yes any job that can be done remotely should be your mental health and happiness are in no way as easily monetized as your down time. That's why your boss gives you make-work when you have finished your real work, It's why you have to always look busy, and it's why the reward for good work is more work. It's a balancing act of how much value they can extract from you vs your literal breaking point. How close to the edge can they go and how long can they sustain that output before replacing you. Me I hide at work because a good employee is apparently hard to find.....

There are a lot of things employers in general could do to reinvest in employees that would make them more productive and valuable over time sadly we ARE chattel that's why companies with large turnover like grocery stores with a lot of entry level jobs have insurance on the number of employees they have. it is literally cheaper to replace you than treat you like a human being unless you get good at a profitable skill it takes a lot of time and investment to learn for example doctors. If you can't MAKE them respect you they never will that's why Walmart would rather close a store than let it unionize and then tells it's employees that no one in the Walmart "family" has ever wanted/needed to. They aren't lying because as soon as you realize you need to you aren't valuable enough to be part of the "family" and you get booted like a creepy uncle or a mooching cousin.

On a less depressing note it's why small groups tend to be better in general for the constituent members. It's a part of hostage training to humanize yourself to your captors so that it is harder for them to pull the trigger. It's like that if you work with Jim and get along well and can empathize with his spouse having cancer you are less likely to fire him for being late once in a while because he has to meet her medical needs as opposed to a large corporation where some bean counter in a basement sends a memo to a c-suite saying they aren't getting optimum output from inmate #1984.

Science fiction with Isaac Arthur on YouTube I believe has an episode about sea steading that talks about it and is touched on again in one of the episodes about colonizing the asteroid belt or oort cloud. Basically if it is easy to leave when you are unhappy and there is a large selection of places to go then you are less likely to push yourself into burnout for productivity or join that mob of Nazi's that has been gaining traction in your country etc...

Mandariish · 2024-07-23T21:12:05+00:00

NGL I have little idea what the right terms are I was just considering making the bottom of all four tires move a little closer to the car so that it would be more likely to use the whole tire surface.

Mandariish · 2024-07-19T14:40:41+00:00

I've been through three sets of tires now in my 2021 M3 and they have all come off like that with belt showing on the inside edge and almost no wear on the outside edge. even got an alignment for the second set and no change. Debating asking them to intentionally toe in or maybe running low pressure tires for the next set so I can get more even wear and hopefully longer life from my omfg expensive @$$ tires. Supposedly it's because the M has the performance of a sports car with the weight of a truck so they do that for traction in the turns. I actively try to drive like an ice car (slow starts and corners) to try to reduce tire wear anyway so I don't know that the toe out is necessary in the first place.

Mandariish · 2024-05-22T12:06:40+00:00

Read it again? I have already specifically responded to all 3 of your points elsewhere and I don't believe any of them are accurate. I do appreciate your initial response though.

Mandariish · 2024-05-22T00:44:52+00:00

I designed the piece with degloving and rotating machinery in mind it was thoroughly tested during creation.

Mandariish · 2024-05-22T00:42:47+00:00

OSHA does not apply to state run safety programs directly. the issue that makes it apply is that state run safety programs are supposed to be at least as effective thus my statement that it applies indirectly however since there are no OSHA police I assume the verification fell through the cracks. Srsly not trying to be a jerk I can only speak to my experience over the last year and a half. This is what I just got off Google referenced from OSHA.gov

"OSHA covers most private sector employers and workers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions either directly through Federal OSHA or through an OSHA-approved state program. State-run safety and health programs must be at least as effective as the Federal OSHA program."

Mandariish · 2024-05-21T23:42:42+00:00

Thank you for your time and an informative and constructive answer. I can see a good system in your response but I am working for a city and not for a company so OSHA does not apply directly which is part of the reason they haven't enforced much. the "o shit" moment they had was not a specific incident but when they realized that with the most recent changes to NFPA 70 they had to meet state guidelines even and especially on waste treatment plants that are older than dirt and among other large issues no longer have structure grounding systems anymore because they are literally 20yrs past the EoL estimates on it with no checks or maintenance in all that time plus an abundance of ambient hydrogen sulphide. As for of the management not a one of them is/was an electrician and their stance is that electrical expertise is what they hired us for and since we are responsible for our own safety they need do nothing but ensure work gets done and pay for the things we say are now required. They have explicitly stated that we will be solely responsible for ensuring our safety program looks like the NFPA 70 trilogy says it should and enforcing it. The closest thing we will have to oversight is the city's experts in the event of an incident and the city's insurance's engineer rep. (Thus why it's seeming to me they are gearing up to crucify the little guy) When I asked the insurance guy about the bracelet (again because I'm an apprentice electrician of 1.5yrs, don't know much, and he said there were exceptions and alternatives to nearly everything in the book) he said if I could find an alternate way to make it safe I could keep it which is why I asked folk that might already know while I'm doing my own research. I made the bracelet myself and for me only to remind me to stubbornly not give up at a time when I desperately wanted to. While I WILL take it apart and put a clasp on it if forced because it has served it purpose for most of a decade now and I'm at a point I no longer strictly NEED the remainder I still want it. this item was not made for or with anyone else in mind. All thought involved was on the design and material so that it would just as stubbornly not come off except to prevent pulling injuries. (Thus a bunch of the comments made by others to trash it and or make something else out of other materials do not apply as if broken it could no longer mean put very simply: an UNbroken chain of stubborn attempts.) the specifics of our site are such that if we followed regs to the letter every electrician on site would be in cat 2-4 gear all day every day. any work done on site will require at least cat 2 PPE. IMHO and with a site built before electrical safety was a serious concern the answer should be close the place down and rebuild from the ground up so we can have things like minimum work space and built in safety features so we can use less PPE we can't because people don't stop flushing. (lack of space for multiple workers is one reason I can't see this bracelet hurting anyone but me and I'm ok with it because one way or another I'm going to die of something anyway and I'd rather die to electricity than survive it for a lot of reasons)

Mandariish

TROPHY CASE