If you can find an adaptive sports group anywhere near your mom’s area (check the closest cities) they might have something. My adaptive sports group had been doing yoga online all pandemic but now it’s back to in person. I’d google not just adaptive sports group but all the other synonyms (handicapped sports/disabled sports/differently abled sports/para sports, etc.). There are also national para sports groups that might be able to direct you to local resources. Sometimes local sports groups are initially founded specifically for wheelchair users so I’d also search things like “wheelchair yoga” or “wheelchair sports”.
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I also love doing adaptive work and have a yoga class for those with health conditions.
Books: This one was recommended to me, I love some of her guided meditations. I can’t comment as much on the poses.
This was also passed on to me and some of my students requested that we go through it monthly. Many of the moves are also readily combined with other yoga poses.
If the link doesn’t work, search Mukunda Stiles Joint Freeing Series
@diapasoun Does you mom like DVDs? I’m not up on yoga dvds, but check out Miranda Esmonde-White Aging Backwards. I think she has some specifically for older people and limited mobility. She also offers Classical Stretch and Essentrics but some of those are more advanced.
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Is there a word for words that have two opposite meanings? (e.g. cleave) Also, is there a word for words that mean the same with or without a prefix? (e.g. bone and debone)
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Contronym. Not sure on the second.
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Wow! Thank you!
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There’s sort of a word for the others. They are called either false antonyms or pseudoantonyms (words that look they should be opposites based on root+affixes but actually aren’t). That’s a bit more specific, but applicable here.
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Ahhh no idea why I didn’t tag in JRA and AllHat earlier! Thanks, y’all.
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I started to apply for a tax prep job and the very first thing to do was sign a binding arbitration agreement. For reference, the job will probably pay close to minimum wage. I don’t think I even entered my name into the application, although maybe that was part of the username / password process.
The full text is under the spoiler, but what sticks out to me is single, binding, individual arbitration. I think it is signing away all rights to sue including for things like harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and it prevents one from joining any class action law suits. Would you sign this to apply for a job? Folks who have been applying to jobs recently (@JanetJackson, @Panda, @Meowkins, I can’t remember who else), is this normal? Would something like this hold up?
I’m not a litigious person but I wonder about a company that would require it. @anomalily, @lhamo, @Pbkmaine, @plainjane is this in your area of expertise?
Full text of binding arbitration agreement
MUTUAL ARBITRATION AGREEMENT. This Mutual Arbitration Agreement (“Agreement”) is between me and xxxxx, and such other Xxxxx business entity for which I am applying for employment / assignment or for which I may become employed, (collectively, “Xxxxx”). Xxxxx and I agree that any Covered Claims (defined below) will be resolved by final and binding individual arbitration as set forth in this Agreement, unless I opt out of this Agreement pursuant to the Arbitration Opt-Out section below. For purposes of this Agreement, any reference to the “Company” shall include xxxxx and Xxxxx’s direct or indirect parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, predecessor and successor entities, and/or related entities, including without limitation XXXXX Resources LLC, XXXXX Green Resources LLC, XXXXX Professional Resources LLC, and Xxxxx Enterprises LLC. This Agreement will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) (9 U.S.C. section 1 et seq.), and evidences a transaction involving commerce. This Agreement applies with respect to all Covered Claims, whether initiated by me or the Company. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, all Covered Claims will be decided by a single arbitrator in accordance with the then current Employment Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA Rules”), available via the internet at www.adr.org/employment, and not by way of court or jury trial. No arbitration award or decision will have any preclusive effect as to any issues or claims in any dispute, arbitration or court proceeding where any party was not a named party in the arbitration, unless and except as required by applicable law. Notwithstanding any contrary language, if any, in this application and/or in any Xxxxx policy or handbook, this Agreement may not be modified, revised or terminated absent a writing signed (written or electronically) by both parties.
Covered and Excluded Claims. This Agreement is intended to be as broad as legally permissible and to apply to the resolution of disputes that otherwise could be resolved in a court of law or before a forum other than arbitration. Except for claims that are excluded below, Covered Claims shall include any and all claims or disputes between me and the Company, or the Company’s direct or indirect parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, predecessor or successor corporations and business entities, and its and their officers, directors, employees, and agents, including but not limited to claims and disputes arising out of or in any way relating to my application for employment, hiring or recruitment, employment, and/or the termination of my employment. By way of example only, Covered Claims include, without limitation, past, present, and future contract, tort, and defamation claims; equitable claims; common law claims; unfair competition claims; wage and hour claims; statutory claims or other claims for discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; claims regarding the application and selection process (including without limitation claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and similar state laws); and claims arising under or relating to any federal, state or local constitution, statute or regulation, including, without limitation, the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and any and all other federal, state, or local constitutional, statutory, regulatory, or common law claims or causes of action now or hereafter recognized. Further, Covered Claims include any disputes regarding this Agreement or any portion of the Agreement or its interpretation, enforceability, validity, applicability, unconscionability, arbitrability or formation, or whether the Agreement or any portion of the Agreement is void or voidable, with the exception noted in the Class and Representative Action Waivers section below.
The following claims and disputes are excluded from this Agreement: (i) applications for temporary or preliminary injunctive relief in aid of arbitration or to maintain the status quo pending arbitration, (ii) claims arising under, relating to or in connection with an employee benefit plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), which shall be determined in accordance with the claims and dispute resolution procedures set forth in the applicable ERISA plan documents, (iii) claims for workers’ compensation benefits (however, retaliation and discrimination claims arising out of or relating to claims for workers’ compensation benefits are covered under this Agreement), (iv) claims for unemployment compensation benefits, and (v) disputes that an applicable federal statute validly bars from arbitration or pre-dispute arbitration. Regardless of any other terms of this Agreement, a claim may be brought before and remedies awarded by an administrative agency if applicable law permits the agency to adjudicate the claim notwithstanding the existence of an agreement to arbitrate, including claims or charges brought before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (www.eeoc.gov), the U.S. Department of Labor (www.dol.gov), the National Labor Relations Board (www.nlrb.gov), or the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp). Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to preclude or excuse a party from bringing an administrative claim before any agency in order to fulfill the party’s obligation to exhaust administrative remedies before making a claim in arbitration.
The Company will not retaliate against any applicant for filing a claim with an administrative agency or for exercising rights (individually or in concert with others) under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.
This Agreement does not apply to any claims between me and the Company already pending in court prior to the date I execute this Agreement, including any class or collective action, but only to the extent I was already a member of the certified class or collective action (“Pending Claim”). If I previously signed (and did not opt out of) an agreement to arbitrate claims with the Company prior to the commencement of or otherwise applicable to a Pending Claim and that Pending Claim was covered by the prior agreement to arbitrate, that previous agreement to arbitrate will remain in full force and effect, including without limitation the Class Action Waiver, regardless of any other provision of this Agreement, even if I opt out of this Agreement pursuant to the Arbitration Opt-Out section below.
Class and Representative Action Waivers. The Company and I agree to bring any dispute in arbitration on an individualized basis. Accordingly:
THE COMPANY AND I HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHT FOR ANY DISPUTE TO BE BROUGHT, HEARD, DECIDED, OR ARBITRATED AS A CLASS COLLECTIVE, JOINT AND/OR CONSLIDATED ACTION, and the arbitrator will have no authority to hear or preside over any such claim (“Class Action Waiver”).
THE COMPANY AND I ALSO HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHT FOR ANY DISPUTE TO BE BROUGHT, HEARD, DECIDED OR ARBITRATED AS A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL REPRESENTATIVE ACTION and the arbitrator will have no authority to hear or preside over any such claim (“Representative Action Waiver”). The Representative Action Waiver does not apply to any claim I bring in arbitration as a private attorney general claim solely on my own behalf and not on behalf of or regarding others.
The arbitrator may award relief (including declaratory and injunctive relief) only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and any relief must be individualized to that party and shall not affect any other person. In addition, unless both the Company and I agree otherwise in writing, the arbitrator may not join and/or consolidate more than one person’s claims.
Notwithstanding any other clause or language contained in this Agreement and/or any rules or procedures that might otherwise apply by virtue of this Agreement or by virtue of any arbitration organization rules or procedures that now apply or any amendments and/or modifications to those rules, any claim that any provision of this section, including the Class Action Waiver or Representative Action Waiver, or any portion of the Class Action Waiver or Representative Action Waiver, is unenforceable, inapplicable, unconscionable, void, or voidable, will be determined only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator.
If any provision of this section, including the Class Action Waiver and Representative Action Waiver, is determined to be invalid, unenforceable, void, or voidable with respect to any Covered Claim or any particular request for a remedy for a Covered Claim, then only that Covered Claim or only that particular request for a remedy (and only that Covered Claim or particular request for a remedy) must remain in court and be severed from any arbitration.
Arbitration Opt-Out. You may opt out of this Agreement by submitting a signed written statement that you wish to opt out of and not be subject to this Agreement. In order to be effective, the written statement must include your full name, address, and last 4 digits of your Social Security Number, and must be submitted to xxxxx within thirty (30) days of the submission of your application. Your written statement opting out of the Agreement applies to this Agreement only and will not apply to any prior or future arbitration agreements between you and the Company, which will remain in full force and effect. Choosing to opt out of this Agreement will not subject you to any adverse employment action as a consequence of that decision.
To the extent I have been previously employed or subsequently am employed by the Company and have signed or do sign any other agreements containing arbitration provisions, the Company and I agree that such other arbitration provisions shall control to the extent they would apply to claims otherwise covered by this Arbitration Agreement.
Severability. Except as stated in the Class and Representative Action Waivers section above, the provisions of this Agreement will be severable and, if any provision of this Agreement shall be determined to be legally unenforceable or void, such unenforceable or void provision will not affect the legality, validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of the successors and assigns of the Company, which may enforce this Agreement.
THE COMPANY AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS SET FORTH ABOVE. BY ENTERING YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME BELOW AND CLICKING “SAVE AND CONTINUE” BELOW, YOU ARE ELECTRONICALLY SIGNING THIS AGREEMENT. BY ELECTRONICALLY SIGNING THIS AGREEMENT, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU HAVE CAREFULLY READ THIS AGREEMENT, THAT YOU ARE VOLUNTARILY GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT TO A COURT OR JURY TRIAL, AND THAT YOU AND THE COMPANY ARE AGREEING TO ARBITRATE DISPUTES COVERED BY THIS AGREEMENT, UNLESS YOU FOLLOW THE STEPS AS DESCRIBED ABOVE TO OPT OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT.
YOU ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE BELOW IS BINDING LIKE A WRITTEN SIGNATURE IN INK. THIS APPLICATION CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT WHICH MAY BE ENFORCED BY THE PARTIES.
Unfortunately requiring binding arbitration is more and more a common thing for employers. It’s both a thing that makes you sign away a ton of rights, and a thing that you usually can’t get out of signing for most employers, especially large corporations. You are correct in that it takes away your ability to sue for quite a few things in civil court, and instead forces you to go to private arbitration. IANAL, and I know there are ways around it (i.e. I don’t think they can circumvent labor investigations/complaints with binding arbitration.) Arbitration doesn’t mean you couldn’t get your day in court, it just won’t be your court (it must be private arbitration and under whatever damn terms they have).
to do it so early in the process is interesting and concerning prior to a job offer…
I’m pinging actual lawyer @Suit
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Also actually reading that text now and it looks like Class Action is excluded, because it is mentioned here “will be determined only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator.”
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Binding arbitration clauses are very common in the financial services industry. I have never signed one, though. I don’t like to give up my rights.
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@anomalily you rang? I don’t do labor and employment law, my husband does though. If you don’t want to be subject to binding arbitration why not just give them the opt out notice?
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sorry, I don’t have experience with US labour laws, but I am not surprised that a company that needs large volumes of minimally paid people would put something like that in.
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Insert legalese disclaimer - not representing you, your jurisdiction may differ, blah blah blah.
This is EXTREMELY common. Most of it holds up. There will be a handful of extreme cases or situations where it will not.
Having it presented to you at the job application/offer stage is actually a benefit. They aren’t hiding it. Most places hire you, you accept the offer, start working & then in the first week as you “complete paperwork,” you finally get an employee handbook and documents to sign - including this type of arbitration clause.
While it may be depressing to waive your rights in this fashion, it’s probably more depressing to recognize that there is a narrow band of rights where this would even matter. In most cases of harassment, retaliation, wrong-doing, etc., it’s not going to be worth it to bring suit (legal cost too high for what you’d get out of it) or you’re going to lose anyway (because proving this type of thing when actionable isn’t actually easy).
You’ll have low level stuff (no real recourse no matter what), mid level stuff (maybe it matters if you can sue but 
), and high level stuff (likely to lead to settlement no matter what due to PR and/or tip the balance to not falling under this type of clause).
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I think I read it a little differently, and is saying any claim that the agreement is unenforceable etc will be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction etc. But I’m not a lawyer and it’s all kind of confusing to me.
This is my inclination too. Even though I’m very unlikely to sue.
I was fine with that up until the part about including the last four of my social. Granted, they’d have it if I decided to work for them, but it’s not something I mail out to just anyone, given how commonly that’s used as the final security question. I typically refuse to give out my SSN before actually being hired, never to medical offices, etc.
And of course the opt-out part can be lost, and they still have my signature. Why not allow me to opt out right on the application?
@FIFoFum Your points are all valid. I’m unlikely to sue, I wouldn’t want to deal with the stress, hassle or expense.
The whole thing just feels like a red flag to me, like a neon sign saying, our company culture is OK with harassment and discrimination etc. Unfortunately it’s not the first thing in this process that’s made me wonder about the company.
I think my options are:
- Sign it, knowing I can quit if things turn problematic. Maybe opt out, maybe not.
- Submit a resume to the person who’s been after me to apply, which was an option she offered me. Let things get a little further, get more information about pay etc. before deciding how much to pursue or not.
- Apply to some other jobs, either in this field or doing something else. There are some opportunities where I currently teach yoga that would probably be less mentally challenging, but the employer is a known entity.
- Volunteer to do tax prep on more days, and let go of doing this in a paid position.
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Umm, I gotta say, in my own experience, this is why I only ever did tax prep as a volunteer. Nowadays, I know cool people that would’ve had me work for them as a tax prep person, but then I didn’t and I didn’t like the business model of [redacted tax prep firms that hire anyone smart enough]. I was happy to teach workshops on taxes, make zines for my community (exotic dancers) about taxes and work ~20+ hours/week as a tax volunteer during peak season, but the big tax prep firms just had me really skeezed.
Unsolicited advice, ignore if not wanted: Is there a possibility of you getting a roll in a smaller tax prep firm for seasonal work? Even if it’s not doing much prep yourself, all the small firms are hiring smart admins/client intake people around here and they’d be delighted to have someone who has tax-aide experience. I have two friends who are farmers who work tax admin during the off-season. If you’re up to it, some cold calling/emailing saying you’re looking for seasonal work to some firms (even better if they are firms you know through other tax aide volunteers) might yield a good result. And likely better paying. But it might interfere with yoga schedule.
WRT to labor rights - I act all offended about this but I worked as a congressional aide, and even OSHA doesn’t apply to congressional staffers who make $12/hr. And did two terms in AmeriCorps, which is signing a binding contract, getting fingerprinted and swearing to protect homeland security with the federal government to make $3/hr in a role that isn’t techically a “job”. So really I’m great at signing away my rights 
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I very much appreciate your advice! Please keep it coming, that’s why I pinged you. And I’m happy to hear your thoughts on any specific companies, whatever you’d like to post here or by DM, including naming names. I feel like I’ve seen a few red flags already and I wonder what else you’ve seen. The companies I’ve looked at seem to have good employee reviews so I’m interested in any information you’d like to share.
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Has anyone used Policy Genius or similar to shop for/buy insurance? I want to get some quotes on home insurance and the krmit household is deeply suspicious of giving so much information out just for quotes, although we know it’s necessary. Any recommendations?
You will get nonstop calls from brokers if you use any of those places, but they will help you analyze
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If you’re going to knock on your neighbors’ door to offer them mini-apple strudels (so you can introduce yourself) on a sunday-- what’s a good time to do that? like… 11am? 2pm?
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