LGATs want to AVOID anything about them becoming public record.

That is why it is so very important to find yourself a lawyer--NOW.

Because, lawyers can file motions so that stuff eventually does become public record.

But that can only happen if filing deadlines are met. You dont want to miss filing deadlines in this potential case, so that is why you should talk to a lawyer NOW. (There are two business days--today and friday before the three day Labor Day weekend. Today, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday add up to five days--and those 5 days are subtracted from the window of time before your filing deadline. Dont waste them!)

What Marmat said is right on. Lawyers call this a 'chronology.'

Do it using the 'who' 'what' 'when' 'where' format.

(However dont speculate about motives or emotions.)

(eg Where your husband worked, Who his boss is, When/How long he worked for the company, When he was asked/told to do this group dynamics thing, when he was told he was being let go, What he was told to do as a condition of keeping his job, what happened following his refusal to do it, What medical condition he said he had when telling his boss that that it was not in his best interests to do the workshop.

Copies of job performance reviews if these are available, will be important. If performance reviews were done, try and remember when they were done and write this down. (Your attorney can request those).

(If you or your husband cannot remember, dont try and call the company to find out. Get the lawyer to do this)

If someone has had good job reviews and then abruptly gets terminated or a contract isnt renewed and this falls suspiciously close to refusal to do X event or workshop, that is important. information.

However...just provide the information. Let your lawyer make the case.

Attorneys know what meets the standard of evidence and what does not. Rules for evidence in law are very, very different than what the person in the street considers convincing.

The best thing is getting records. Paperwork cannot be forced to change its story.

Paperwork and records have to meet a certain standard and actually exist. 'Matter of record' and 'Let the record reflect' are the phrases in law.

Write that chronology as though it will become a court document, which it might become.

These are hard to write when feeling upset. One reason to hire an attorney is you are literally hiring someone who will have the ability to be calm for you.

And have the expertise to avoid pitfalls and traps that nice people risk falling into when in messy situations such as what M has described for us.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2008 08:21PM by corboy.

I have noticed that Makeup hasn't been back here to post, though hopefully she's reading. In case she is...

Makeup, I hope you and your husband are doing okay. Maybe this is all too much information for you at the moment. If you feel overwhelmed, maybe print it all out and save it for when you want to read.

Take care.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for all the replies & I am so SORRY that I have not replied sooner! I have really been so overwelmed with all the responses. I did try to respond yesterday from work but didn't realize that I had to be logged in to do that. I was linking thru to the responses via email. I just figured out that I had to log in to respond. Duh! Sorry guys. I am beat... I work full time & this has been one helluva week! I don't know where to start, but I can say that I am not happy with what I have found out this week. I have made I don't know how many phone calls on my break & lunch! I give up!! I called a quite a few lawyers and I guess in this state you can fire a person for ANY reason. I was told that by 2 different employment lawyers. I called EEOC & because there are less than 15 employee they could not help. EEOC gave me a federal # and they told me the same thing that the lawyer said that in this state you can get fired for any reason. I found a number for the REDA Act and again the same thing... NC is a state that can fire for any reason. I could not believe what I was hearing. I have got to say that I felt such rage against this man. I have never felt like that in my life! I really had to pray hard for him.... because I really felt like hurting him!

Anyway.... I did end up taking my husband to the emergeny room on Sunday night because his anxiety was so bad. They gave him a shot of some sort to calm his nerves. I called his Dr on Monday and she was on vacation. I told the nurse what was going on & faxed her a copy of the enrollement form that circled the part that Landmark doesn't recomend a person with Bi-Polor & on medication to enroll in the program. I told her that I wanted a doctors note for the record to send to him & they suggested the same thing everyone else did... GET A Lawyer! Anyway she said my husband would have to sign a release for that, but she didn't recommend it anyway.

Monday afternoon one of the guys that works Construction with my husband called and asked where he was today that they were waiting for him... So his boss must of put on a show that my husband just didn't show up for work. The boss called later and left a message saying that they waited for him today before they went out on the job & went on saying that my husband was a good guy & that he was disappointed that he didn't want to do the landmark & then he said I guess if you want to be an installer your whole life then that is your choice & then he said he really wanted him in management. The thing is he has been having my husband run the jobs since he started working there anyway... just not paying him like he promised he would when he became a manager (never mentioned Landmark until last Tuesday). Oh yeah & he said on the message that when you started I told you that there was going to be some courses that you will need to take when you go into management. That was never said! I know that the Landmark was never mentioned until last Tueday when my husband darkened that doorway to the "Seminar".

Anyway...It has been driving my huband nuts since he left the message monday & against my better judgement he called his boss. His boss said that he wanted to talk to him to come in early tomorrow. He said that he did not want to talk on the phone. I was pretty mad at my husband for calling. I know that he is going to ask him to work because he can't keep people & my husband has been running all of his jobs for him. I know that my husband is worried to death about money & so am I for that matter.... I hate to say it but we pretty much have been living week to week. My husband says that he does not have the energy or confidence to go look for another job right now. I know that is the depression bringing him down. I don't know what to tell him to do.... I am too tired to think clearly. Any suggestions if he offers his job back? I feel so defeated after all the calls I made. I wish he could just find another job and forget about this job & move on. I guess it is easier said than done. I don't want to give up I want this guy stopped. I just don't know where else to turn. It just seems so wrong that this could happen & that he could get away with even asking his employees to go to this crap! Boy oh boy we need to pray for direction in this house!

I will let you know what happens tomorrow.....

Thanks again everyone for all the kind words & advice... I really appreciate all the time that everyone has taken to write to me.

I am going to print this thread & read it all.. I was reading thru the emails & I think that I missed a few replies, so I am going to take the suggestion to print this thread out & read all when I am at work tomorrow.

Thank again,
Makeup

Hi Makeup,

Great to hear from you again. We're all with you on this one.

Don't forget to keep the tapes of any messages that the boss leaves on the answering machine. Better to have them than not to.

John

Makeup,

That message was a cover-my-ass-in-case-they-take-legal-action message. They really do all go to the same training camp.

When I made things really difficult for my doctor, who was recruiting for Landmark, I got a very poorly written email explaining that I was a woman scorned, that I wanted a romantic relationship with him, wanted party drugs, and when I didn't get them, I freaked out. The investigator saw right though this.

Considering the state of mind your hubby is in, I think it would be a mistake for him to go meet in person with that creep. His defenses are down and that is exactly what these people want so they can manipulate even more.

Exxxxxactly!

John

makeup

- sorry to read about the troubles you have been having (in your latest post)

I am not a lawyer or a psychiatrist. But I know what to do when you have been in close contact with landmark (or a landmark devotee).

Step back. Don't pick a fight with them.

Let time pass. Then maybe get a lawyer to try to sue the employer. That will probably fail unfortunately.

Take care of your husband. Get him away from that firm that is infested with the landmark virus. Just tell him to let go of that employment.

Get your life back. Let your husband heal (using the help that you can get). If your husband is in construction he can hopefully get a new job.

Stay away from the legal stuff. It will only wear you down.

If you want to speak to me send me - indicate so and I will give you my phone number. You can send me a message through youtube. Just search for nisseberka and (if you have an youtube account) you can send me a message.

nettie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/2008 11:01PM by nettie.

Getting a lawyer doesnt necessarily mean you're obligated to sue your husband's employer.

Get a lawyer so you can have an intermediary through which you can handle all communication and protect yourself from stress.

A lawyer, using his or her firm's stationary, can make formal requests to obtain any paperwork your husband left behind at the company, and if need be, supoena it.

Having an attorney means you and your husband dont have to deal with these folks on the telephone, and thus be spared any mind games.

Your lawyer will handle that for you. Stress reduction right there.

It doenst obligate you to take them to court later on. Hiring a lawyer will give you an ally, someone who can be calm for you.

Many many persons hire lawyers for precisely this--to represent them by proxy in delicate negotiations.

PS I dont work for an attorney, am not one myself, and dont work for a referral service and so have nothing personal to gain from offering this kind of advice.

Take care of yourselves--and believe it or not, hiring an attorney can be a way to do exactly that.

C

Things to Make and Do

Go to the search button on the upper right corner of the message board window.

Open it and go to the 'author search' slot.

Put 'Elaine' into the author search slot and select 'all forums' and 'all dates.'

There are just 5 posts by Elaine, making this quite manageable.

Read them, starting from the earliest to the most recent one.

You will see a pattern that matches what I privately term 'sleeper troll' -- someone who starts off helpfully, but drops a few clues here and there.

And in the most recent post, drops the facade and reveals the actual allegiance.

Any time someone's posted material gives an 'iffy feeling' do this kind of auditing of someone's written output.

We had to learn to do this over on the Byron Katie thread, given the number of disruptive visitors who showed up.

Any concerns or doubts...take em to Mr. Ross.

C

Finally, someone else sniffs out patterns too.

If people had BRAIN ONE to do this, LGATs wouldn't exist.

But most people are oblivious.

Thanks, C.

I noticed the same thing.

Quote
corboy
Things to Make and Do

Go to the search button on the upper right corner of the message board window.

Open it and go to the 'author search' slot.

Put 'Elaine' into the author search slot and select 'all forums' and 'all dates.'

There are just 5 posts by Elaine, making this quite manageable.

Read them, starting from the earliest to the most recent one.

You will see a pattern that matches what I privately term 'sleeper troll' -- someone who starts off helpfully, but drops a few clues here and there.

And in the most recent post, drops the facade and reveals the actual allegiance.

Any time someone's posted material gives an 'iffy feeling' do this kind of auditing of someone's written output.

We had to learn to do this over on the Byron Katie thread, given the number of disruptive visitors who showed up.

Any concerns or doubts...take em to Mr. Ross.

C