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This is not illegal in most states. Sometimes it's in the divorce agreement.

Posted By: M.A. on 2006-06-24
In Reply to: Divorce will be final in 2 wks, can I stay on my ex's health insurance? - M

nm


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In most states, if not all, it is illegal for a company
to charge you up-front for information about work, software necessary to work, etc.  They should do a payroll deduction, still doesn't guarantee they are a legitimate company though. 
Me too. Been there, done that, got the divorce.
.
For those of you who have gone through a divorce...sm

My husband and I have decided to go our separate ways after only 2-1/2 years of marriage.  I have no idea where to start and what to do because we bought a house together, bought a new car together, have credit cards together, etc.  This is a mutual decision for both of us to end our marriage so it's not like it is a bitter divorce or anything.  We would like to NOT involve attorneys but how do we separate all of our stuff?


Thanks


You have a point there. I wonder if it's the divorce?
It's like Tom Cruise not aging well also.  And have you seen Robert Redford?  OMG.  His face is ravaged with time and his neck..... terrible.  But you get Paul Newman he he does look better as he ages.  Guess it's in the genes? 
Not due to divorce, but our family went their
separate ways after both of our parents died.  Strange, because I always thought we were close before that, but it could have been wishful thinking.
He was my divorce attorney
.
My attorny put in my divorce that I have to take him
to court to enforce any part of the divorce agreement, he has to pay fees for both of us.  To the best of my understanding, it's very difficult to have something changed once it's been a legal and binding contract in a divorce.  The judges normally stick to what the original agreement was.  Good luck. 
Well, if it's due to divorce, you DEFINITELY want an actual

real estate agent.  You are thinking of the money you think you could save, but what it will end up turning into is a bigger mess.  If you sign a 60 or 90 day contract with a for sale by owner agent (i.e. Help-U-Sell, Assist2Sell, BuyOwner) and all they do is plunk a sign in your yard and give you a lock box then you're not getting much.  They don't do a lot of advertising other than on their own website and they might print a few flyers for you. 


With the market soft right now, unless you price the house really low just to get rid of it, expect it to sit for 90 to 120 days.


when I got a divorce -- see message
Whe I got a divorce my husband tried to make me put a price on my small business and there basically was no value as most of my clients would probably not go with a new owner.  Most of the value was in my computer, printer, etc. which after a year is worth nil.  It is mainly an income and not much else as you cannot quarantee that when you sell that your clients will go with the new business.  Sometimes it can be valued at a one month income.   There are real estate agents that sell businesses and she can check with them to see what they say.   I worked for a small MTSO that sold and what they did was to not tell any of the clients that it was being sold, ran under the same name with some of the same people there and it went okay but that is touchy.  You are selling more the name of the business than anything else.   Again, she needs to contact a real estate agent that specializes in selling businesses.   She is selling her client list and name mainly and hoping that they all go with the new owners which is a gamble and not one I would take.    Good luck. 
She hasn't filed for a divorce yet -

Because the state she lives in does not recognize legal separation, she had an agreement drawn up by her corporate atty.  This agreement handed the house (quick claim deed) and business over to her, while her "future ex" draws his pension and moved to warmer weather (California).  This all happened when things were friendly. Now she wants a divorce so she can get on with her life (with her new beau she is buying the house with).  BAD idea since she has not filed for a divorce.  Anyway, thanks everyone.  I think I'll be visiting her in jail.    


I guess I was wondering how a divorce could have been
the agreement or been before the judge with your lawyer to dispute something in the agreement. People with nothing to dispute rarely have to appear, as they have already signed the documents that the lawyer presents to the judge. I don't know if you signed your portion of the agreement without having read it to ensure your wishes were followed...hope you find some resolution.
And they say divorce is less traumatic on adult children....
Unfortunately, this is NOT the case. Adult children whose parents divorce quite often end up just as you have described. They are old enough to form their own opinions which are quite often colored by their life experiences and how they relate to each parent as an adult with adult biases and opinions. Divorce, regardless of the age of the children, always affects the children and people who are "waiting until the kids are grown" are only deluding themselves.


Each state has different divorce and family laws; however, sm
ex-hubby is not entitled to anything after the date the divorce was filed. So, if she filed for divorce on January 1 and hit the lottery on January 2, he gets nothing!

At least that is how it is in PA. Don't know about other states.
I needed to divorce cheating DH of 27 years. This was
xx
You need to join a divorce support group. Look around. Helped
zz
Divorce will be final in 2 wks, can I stay on my ex's health insurance?

My ex is willing to leave me on his health insurance.  Is it legal to do this?  Will we get ourselves in trouble if he doesn't take me off? 


I am in agreement with you. sm
I haven't seen the word type ever, either.  I use the hyphen non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Am in 100% agreement with you...
this is what I have been talking about. This is a job and should be treated as such and not just a vehicle for you to be able to stay home. Thanks for the good post. Most of the MTs answering are really, really touchy about this because they are the ones trying to be supermom, wanting to put all else before their job and then wondering why falling short in pay, time to actually work, etc. I have never said not to love your family- you just really need to have a separation of work and family.
I am in agreement.
I doubt anyone is working for a national making that kind of money the OP asks about.  You need to cut out the middle man, take the initiative, and gain some accounts for yourself unless of course, you don't want to leave the house and don't want the responsibility of doing just that.  It does take more than just sitting at the computer to gain accounts.  JMO.  I have my own accounts, not large, and I'm not an MTSO, but I'm making $35,000.00 a year, and I don't work that hard, but I do have many, many years of experience.  The accounts I have were through the docs watching me transcribe on-site and being impressed and I'm not patting myself on the back, but I do believe being on-site for awhile can do wonders for your career. 
How true, mine is trained quite well....before we married he asked if I would ever divorce him -
abused me in any way. So far so good after 9 years. He admits to cheating on his first wife a couple of times though as she did not like having sex (not the reason of their divorce and long before I met him which was 2 years after his divorce). He is germaphobic so it's amazing he ever cheated in the first place....but I think he was actually trying to get her to divorce him (subconsciously)....took 12 years for it to work though. Luckily they had no kids. She did not want kids either, at least not then. She has since remarried too (a month after he did) and her 2 sons are very close in age to my 2 girls. Weird. Men can be such weenies though. Now to just train him to throw out his used paper towels instead of leaving them all over the kitchen counter (my dad does the same thing too). Oh well.
total agreement with you - sm
I myself am in favor of trying to find out which hospitals outsource the work to India and then writing letters to the local newspapers as "letter to the editor" kind of thing to let the residents of the area know that their medical records are being sent out to India. But that's just my opinion.
do NOT sign any such agreement
x
I'm in total agreement with you.....sm

Do not kill them....unless poisonous or unless they strike!  They can be caught and released or given to someone or some group who specializes in handling snakes.


Killing is the coward's way out...killing something that you are 10 to 100+ times bigger than......unless of course it's about to strike or is poisonous!


non-compete agreement
GA girl, where are you? Do you have experience with a n.c. agreement in GA?
non-compete agreement
I read the posts below about the n.c. agreement and wonder if you have any knowledge of them. Any info is appreciated. Thanks.
Exactly, a mutual agreement...sm
Where you find someone you can trust to do quality work and help each other out.

As I am preparing to go out on my own also, here's what I was thinking. (Now this is just a thought.)

You tell your prospect up front in the agreement stages of obtaining the account that on the rare occassion that you need to take time off - i.e., vacations, etc., that you will type the most important charts, up to a limited amount of charts, during that timeframe.

I thought I would take a laptop with me (yes, even on vacation) and type 1 hour or so.

Then, when you return, you will have the backlog typed in xxx amount of days at xxx discounted charge.

Just a thought. I'm also trying to network with local Independent Contractors to work out a mutually beneficial relationship with them.
You need to consider formalizing your agreement with them. sm

You don't sound like an IC to me but more like an employee. I would suggest that you clarify your status with this office by way of a contract that states the services you offer and what your charge is for your service. This should include the definition of a line and your per-line rate. Then, if they increase production, you increase your income, and it shouldn't really matter to you if it's thank-you letters or patient notes as long as you're getting paid. This also allows you to outline exactly what you are willing to do for this office. As a compromise, you may want to consider stating that you will supply a missing patient list at the end of each day. Then, stick to it.


This office sounds like it needs a REAL office manager and not  the doctor's wife who fills in or a manager who apparently doesn't know how to manage her own job.


Good luck!


I am in total agreement with
I also have many, many years of experience and find it hard to believe that the pay is only 7 cpl when in fact you must have a lot of experience and learn new platforms, accounts, etc.  Production suffers initially, and then all of a sudden these MTSOs want to switch you to another account, which makes it almost impossible to make a decent living at 7 cpl. 
another voice in agreement with yours...
I've been doing this 13 years, some of it as a QA Editor (the only time I've ever heard of being promoted to a "higher position" yet making significantly less money...)and I agree with all of the above. My favorite is when you put in for a raise and get ignored, time and again, even though you are called a high producer and put on difficult accounts because you "do so well on them". Also, voice recognition is going to destroy this profession entirely probably sooner than later. It's all changing completely. I finally decided I'd had enough and went back to college a couple years ago to change professions entirely. In a year and a half, I'll have my new degree and be done with MT forever and it will probably be the happiest day of my life.
Here's a wry smile of agreement instead. NM
NM
Confidentiality Agreement
Does anyone have a generic confidentiality agreement that they use for their clients.  I have new doc, and I don't have any agreement in my file.  I have signed theirs, but do not have one to offer the new doc.  Anybody have one or know where I can find one?  Thanks so much.
Confidentiality Agreement
There was an Agreement of Confidentialty that was posted on 05/20/09 by DeeAnn. that was really good. Hope this helps.
I'd hire an attorney and do a quickie divorce. They're cheap and well worth it.
If it's uncontested the attorney can help you amicably sort through what needs to be split and do it fairly and according to the laws of your state. This will avoid potential problems later.
I just checked my employment agreement and...
it only says you have to return the equipment, it doesn't say who pays for it.  Should I just shut my mouth and pay for it so they don't hold my last check for ransom?
The scope of the agreement is much broader
It gives them the right to look at ANY document on your computer, any email you have sent.  They want to see who you communicate with, what you say to whom.  They want to manage what information about the company is sent out on message boards or anywhere on the internet.  They want to restrict any negative comment about the company from being posted anywhere on the internet or in private email.
I am in total agreement with what you have written
This job was quite enjoyable in my younger years and while it sounds like pay was low back in the 1980s, the cost of living was low as well.

Another 4-5 years of serious studying and I could have possibly obtained a degree in an area which had better job security, had a future I could count on and didn't require 50-60 hours of week of work to bring home 50G.

Plus, at 48, my hips, hands, hearing, have taken a beating that I am not really being compensated for, most jobs after 20 yrs, land a person into a supervisory position of some sort that allow the worker to teach what they know, and yes, to relax somehat and let the young and spunky ones keep up the grueling schedules.

So, in retrospect, I would have gotten student loans, applied for grants, did what I had to in order to acquire a higher education (I wanted to be a doctor).

You should have signed a confidentiality agreement which allows you to type this unless-
you do not feel comfortable typing it, in which case I would ask my supe to reassign it.
part of the agreement is to not portray the company in a
.
I'm in TOTAL agreement with you, I just hope they don't retaliate.
x
Try calling back about a payment agreement.

deal with compared to my state department of revenue!  I owed taxes over $10,000 in taxes two years in a row to the IRS, so over $20,000, and they let me make payments on it and I got it paid off.  I also got the INTENT TO LEVY notices, but when I called and set up a payment agreement they stopped with the threats.


Right now I owe the IRS about $5000 and when I called to set up payments I asked them if I could make payments of $150 a month and they accepted that without question.  I was a little afraid to suggest such a small amount, but they took it.


Now my state department of revenue is much meaner than the IRS.  They told me to pay what I owe them in six months or else.  They put a lien on my house.  They will only accept payments if I take the total and divide by 6 and pay that amount each month (impossible for me to pay that much) so I am just in a holding pattern seeing if they are bluffing or if they really are going to do something.


I'd say if you really have nothing of value the IRS can get, then it is to their advantage to work with you.  I think you just got a bad agent.  Call back and try to get another one that will work with you. 


Despite having just read the Subscriber Agreement, Section #10...
Re: Limited warranty on Equipment (stars); their legal people pretty much covered their ass. However, based on my experience with IPs, if you keep plugging away (it may takes months), eventually they will tire, thus removing said charges. Again, be prepared for a long battle and make sure to document everything, and I do mean everything. Please keep me posted.
After divorce, child chronic illness, involuntary job change, parents illnesses and death, was force
I frequently regret it, the changes it has made to my life, but when life hands you horror, at least there is this "final solution" to your financial situation. I must admit, I sleep better, and I can finally hold my head up, and I no longer feel hopeless. Find the attorney you can work with,get your free consultation and DO WHAT HE TELLS YOU TO DO. If you have doubts, see a 2nd and a 3rd attorney, till you're comfortable with the person you choose.
Our agreement with our clients regarding referring physician names
When we accept a new client, we request a listing of all referring physicians and their addresses. We enter those names and addresses into our address database which can be accessed by the MT at any time while transcribing the report. They can search by first name, last name, partial name, city or state. We also instruct the physicians/dictators (and their staff) to SPELL physician names if they have not been provided on the initial list. If the dictator dictates a name not found in the database or does not spell a name, the MT has permission to leave a blank (or spell phonetically with a flag for the dictators staff). Our clients print their own work and can make changes/corrections to documents at their end. Therefore, it is THEIR responsibility to fill in the blanks if the dictator uses a name not provided or if he/she does not spell the name. QA staff does not have TIME to look up addresses, and in my opinion, doing so would be a huge waste of our skill. We edit hundreds of reports daily and if we had to research names and addresses in each report, we would never meet our turn-around time agreement. Additionally, we have a customer service department at our home office who can assist MTs with issues such as this. Check with your supervisor/QA staff to confirm what your company policy is regarding names and addresses. Perhaps blanks are acceptable for physician names. As we all know, even if the dictator dictates John Smith, it's possible the name is spelled Jon Smythe. There is no possible way for you to know that; therefore, it should be the CLIENT'S responsibility to confirm the spelling and add the address.
when you work for a national, you sign a confidentiality agreement...?
the same rules would apply, and you must have signed a confidentiality agreement with whomever you work for. you can be fired, if breached.

my opinion, as a professional, you transcribe it and mums the word...

when I worked in a hospital, someone was caught 'sharing' information about the CEO from a transcription report, and was fired on the spot.
It's a written rule in some companies confidentiality agreement.
I know my company has it as a written rule so it just is not good business. I would think an MT would know this
In total agreement, Chris and ManDIVA rule, Taylor

Does this mean you don't have a business associate contract/agreement in place with your doctors
nm
STAPLES is now carrying Dell PCs, laptops, exclusive retail agreement. nm
Paradox
It's not illegal
There is no law against surfing the net. You can have Vonage if your internet is considered high speed. There is another company called zerocents.com that is very reasonable and the quality is about the same as Vonage. Most regular phone carriers off some type of unlimited plan. Ours for Verizon was an extra 10. a month, an extra 30. for Southern Bell.
It's actually illegal for them to....sm

hold your check unless you  signed an employment agreement at the beginning stating that you agreed to these terms. 


Most employers I know of pay for the return shipping. 


There is nothing illegal about
requiring 40 hours a week to be a full-time employee. Nothing whatsoever. You may not like that, but it IS legal. There is nothing illegal about requiring you to use PTO for time not worked.

I don't know if you are the original poster who began this thread, but the attitude of that post was that a 40-hour requirement is a problem. It isn't. You may not like it because you've been accustomed to less, but it is not a problem it is a standard. The original post for this thread has shed a light of doom, implying that things are just getting out of control and that MQ is asking more than they should of you by setting a 40-hour standard. Well, that's simply not true. It may be more than you're willing to commit to and, if so, then you should leave MQ. Otherwise, you'll just have to go along with it.

You may feel like all things are done to spite you with MQ, or other companies, but you're not thinking very logically if that is your take. If MQ doesn't have MTs, they will not be in business. However, they have to have a standard of what they can offer in exchange for your skills. If that exchange isn't good for you, then you don't have to accept it.

No one has forced anyone to work for this company. You made a choice to go with them. You've made a choice to stay with them if you are still there. You can make a choice to leave them if you want to.

Working from home has been a privilege. Some seem to believe that it in itself is standard but think again. Nurses don't work from home; physicians don't work from home; factory workers don't work from home; car salesmen don't work from home; fast food workers don't work from home, etc. We are a very privileged few who have this option.

What the original poster has stated is simply just the standard being set.

I guarantee you there is and will be a mechanism to protect you in occasional and unforeseen circumstances that might interfere with the normal expectation of a 40-hour commitment. However, just as with inhouse employees in every other industry, if you continually fail to meet that obligation without reason, without documentation of why, then you will be out a job. I have no doubt...that is how it is supposed to work.

You ask who I really am? I'm an MT. I've done this over 20 years. I've owned an MT business; I've worked as an employee and an IC; I've worked in hospitals, clinics, for medical research entities, for MT companies. I'm not in management. I'm not an editor. I'm not in QA. I work the same as you and the others here.

I don't defend illegal activities. I also don't see anything illegal happening here. Maybe it is taking away an advantage you have had and become accustomed to, but it nothing less than the standard for the rest of the world. If that bothers you, if you think you deserve more than the rest of the world, I suppose you are going to be sorely disappointed. I hate that for you.

As I've said before, MQ and other companies will never make many of you happy. If you have the ideal situation in your mind of what you want and need, then go find it. If you cannot find it anywhere, you'll have to create it. You can do it.

To sit here and complain over something that (1) you will not act on in a professional, mature, and accepted way to change (i.e., filling out a complaint form and documenting the problem), (2) causes others to become distressed, panicked, and/or overly concerned about something that you personally just don't like, and (3) insinuating that MTs have been done "wrong" with "illegal" activities by their employers IS whining. It is baseless. It is useless. It provides no constructive action. It only serves to keep others (who fall for it) in the same emotional turmoil you are in...and no one ever said it more true than with the old addage, "misery loves company."