Blog | Dolan Law Firm

What responsibility do schools carry for cyberbullying?

This week’s question comes from Michelle P., who writes:

Q: “My daughter is a sophomore at a high school within the San Francisco Unified School District. Like many kids her age, she has a smartphone, which helps the family stay in touch but also allows her to interact regularly online with other kids from her school, some of whom can be very nasty to her, even threatening. She doesn’t feel like she has any choice but to engage with them but this cyberbullying has made her so anxious she can’t focus on her schoolwork. Does her school or SFUSD have any responsibility to intervene when their students are harming each other online?”

A: Michelle, you are right to be concerned and in your intuition that the school should be involved. Cyberbullying has become increasingly common over the past decades and can have tragic, even deadly, consequences.

The State of California recognizes all bullying as a form of violence that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power between individuals or groups of children and results in unprovoked, intentional, and usually repeated physical, verbal, or emotional abuse. Bullying may also manifest as sexual harassment, hate violence, and other severe or pervasive behaviors that create an intimidating or hostile educational environment. California has also specifically recognized the increasing prevalence of cyberbullying, defined as repeated or recurring harm willfully inflicted through electronic media, which can be just as detrimental to students’ wellbeing as face-to-face conflict.

Amendments to California’s existing Safe Place to Learn Act and Interagency School Safety Demonstration Act became effective on Jan. 1, 2019 and required all local educational agencies to adopt procedures for preventing acts of bullying, including cyberbullying, by the end of this calendar year. In May, SFUSD complied with this requirement by adopting Board Policy 5131.2: Bullying and Administrative Policy 5131.2: Bullying. SFUSD policy specifically prohibits transmission of communications or posting of harassing messages, direct threats, or other harmful texts, sounds, or images on the Internet, social networking sites, or other digital technologies, as well as assuming another person’s identity through an electronic account in order to damage that person’s reputation. SFUSD authorizes school administrators to intervene even if the cyberbullying is conducted off campus or outside of school hours in any case where the behavior is impacting students’ learning environment.

Your daughter’s school should have notified all families of the school’s reporting and investigation process. Any student, parent, guardian, or other individual who learns of school-related discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying should immediately contact the school’s principal, or any other staff member. Any school employee who learns of cyberbullying is also required to report the activity to the school principal, who must in turn notify the district compliance officer and inform the target student of their right to file a formal written complaint with the district Office of Equity. Cyberbullying victims are encouraged to save and print relevant electronic or digital messages for aid in investigation of the matter. Complainants names will be held confidential to the extent possible and district policy prohibits any form of retaliation against any individual who files such a complaint.

The school principal is first required to determine whether interim measures are necessary to address the effects of the reported bullying pending investigation and final resolution. After a thorough investigation, including interviews of the accused student and any other witnesses, the principal will determine whether the matter may be resolved through “restorative practices,” a process similar to mediation. If further action is needed, a school may discipline the offending student and, if appropriate, request any applicable social media sites to remove offensive online content and/or suspend the offender’s user privileges.

Pupils who engage in discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or retaliation in violation of law, Board Policy, or administrative regulation may be referred for counseling, behavioral intervention and education, suspension, and/or expulsion. Any employee who permits or engages in prohibited discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or retaliation shall also be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.

If you are unhappy with SFUSD’s resolution of the matter, state law allows 15 days to appeal the district’s action to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. After sixty days following the filing of an appeal, you may seek civil remedies through the courts, seeking damages and injunctive relief (orders from the court to stop or change certain behaviors/policies).

This week’s question comes from Becky M. in SoMa who asks:

Q: “When I was dropping my daughter off at elementary school last week, I drove up the street next to the school. It’s a narrow road with one lane in each direction. I was waiting in line for curbside drop-off when a yellow schoolbus stopped in front of us and turned on its red flashing lights. I stopped behind the bus and waited, even though I could have passed the bus in the lane for oncoming traffic. All the other cars behind me started honking and passing the bus on the left side. I was in a rush to drop off my daughter, but I waited for the lights to stop flashing before I went ahead and dropped her off. I thought I was supposed to wait behind the bus, but no one else was waiting, did the law change?”

A: Thank you for your question, Becky. The law has not changed. You did the right thing by stopping for the bus and remaining stopped until the bus turned its flashing lights off. California Vehicle Code section 22454(a) requires “[t]he driver of any vehicle, upon meeting or overtaking, from either direction, any schoolbus equipped with signs as required in this code, that is stopped for the purpose of loading or unloading any schoolchildren and displays a flashing red light signal … visible from the front or rear, shall bring the vehicle to a stop immediately before passing the schoolbus and shall not proceed past the schoolbus until the flashing red light signal … cease[s] operation.”

Simply put, this means that when the bus stops and flashes its red lights, located at the top front and back of the bus, you must bring your car to a stop, even if you are traveling in the direction opposite the bus. You must stop with enough clearance to allow for children to safety cross the street in front of the bus. You also must stay stopped until the bus turns off its red flashing lights, even if you do not see any children crossing the street. While it might seem inconvenient to stop and stay stopped for such a long time, this is an important, life-saving rule. When the bus is stopped with its red lights flashing, it means that children are either getting on or off the bus and are likely to be crossing the street. Because the bus is large and the children are small, your view of the children crossing may be obstructed.

The consequences for breaking this law can be astronomical — your careless decision could take away a precious, young life. Even if you are lucky enough not to harm a child while passing a stopped bus with flashers activated, your selfish act can earn you a $1,000 fine and a 1-year license suspension.

With school back in session for Fall, it is a good time to remind ourselves to slow down, be patient, and drive safely. Here are a few good rules of thumb to help keep school children safe:

School Zone Speed Limits: Drivers should always observe reduced school speed limits, typically 25 mph or even as low as 15 mph. Watch out for school crossing guards and follow their instructions.
Watch for Pedestrians and Bicycles: Drivers should be extra vigilant in keeping an eye out for children walking, biking, or scootering to school. Young children riding bikes or scooters can be unsteady, unpredictable, and are often inexperienced.
No Distractions: Keep your eyes on the road rather than on your phone or any other device. Taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds means that you may not see a child crossing in front of your car.
Talk to your Child: Teach your child to be safety-conscious. Remind your child to keep a proper lookout for cars in the roadway, be alert while crossing the street, and make sure that drivers see you/acknowledge your crossing. Also, remind your child to be aware of cars entering driveways or backing up.

If you were injured in an accident caused by a careless driver, you have the right to seek compensation for your economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include items such as property damage, medical bills and lost wages; non-economic damages include things like pain and suffering, physical impairment and inconvenience. It is important to retain a skilled trial attorney to ensure that you receive full and just compensation for your injuries.

Several Bay Area News agencies have reported that a Redwood City Police Officer hit a pedestrian and two vehicles while responding at high speed to reports of a home invasion crime. According to the reports, the incident took place at approximately 10am on Wednesday, September 18th while the officer was responding from the vicinity of James Avenue and El Camino Real to the 300 block of Poplar Avenue.

Here are two links to related news stories:

Pedestrian Seriously Injured In Redwood City Police Officer Crash

Redwood City Accident: Police officer spins out on wet road striking pedestrian, colliding with 2 other cars

This week’s question comes from Nancy L. in Pacific Heights, who asks:

Q: “I was riding my bicycle down Market Street near 5th Street when the Uber driver in front of me came to an abrupt stop. I started to slow down and veered to the left side to ride past him, when suddenly the passenger flung the back left door open. It all happened so fast. I had no way of avoiding getting hit by the door. I fell off my bike and onto the ground. I remember feeling immediate pain in my right arm, but I managed to take a picture of the Uber driver’s license plate with my cellphone. Soon after the collision, an ambulance arrived and I was transported to the hospital. After taking x-rays, the doctor told me that I had fractured my arm and I would need surgery. The medical bills keep piling up and I had to miss several days of work. I realize that this is not a typical car accident, but is there anything I can do to recover for my medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering?

A: Nancy, the short answer is yes, you may seek compensation for both the economic and non-economic damages you suffered as a result of this collision. While this may not seem like a typical car accident, it has become increasingly common for cyclists to get “doored” by Uber and Lyft passengers.

It is great to hear that you took down the driver’s license plate. After a car accident, it is very important to obtain the other driver’s information which includes their full name, license plate, and car insurance information. It is also important to obtain a copy of the police report and to take pictures of your injuries and the property damage.

Under California Vehicle Code (CVC) section 22517, “No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.” Based on CVC section 22517, drivers and passengers have a responsibility to inspect their surroundings before opening the door to determine whether it is safe to do so. In your case, the Uber driver should have found a safe location to stop rather than abruptly stopping in the middle of a busy street. Furthermore, the Uber driver should have also warned his passenger to be careful when opening the door. While some of the liability may be placed on the passenger, the main focus in these cases is on Uber/Lyft and the driver because they bear responsibility for the decision to drop-off a passenger on a street with heavy traffic. We have also handled many cases where the Uber or Lyft driver decides to park in the bike lane forcing cyclists to go around the car, which increases the risk of getting doored or struck by oncoming traffic.

If you were injured in a car accident as a result of a driver or passenger “dooring” you, you have the right to seek compensation for your economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include compensation for discrete items such as property damage, medical bills and lost wages; non-economic damages include things that are more difficult to quantify, like pain and suffering, physical impairment, and inconvenience. It is important to retain a skilled trial attorney to ensure that you receive full and just compensation for your injuries.

For everyone’s reference, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition highly encourages drivers and passengers to use the “Dutch Reach” for opening doors: this entails using the hand farthest from the door, so that the body automatically swivels, positioning the head and shoulders towards the window, and thereby allowing them to see any oncoming bikes and cars prior to opening the door. This is an easy technique that can avoid injuries to cyclists. By taking these steps, you can help curb this unfortunate new trend.

Unfortunately, and incomprehensibly, we are growing accustomed to seeing daily news reports of human trafficking and exploitation of children and adults. Thanks to the internet, this multi-billion dollar industry, which boasts over 100,000 dedicated websites, is among the fastest growing online business sectors in the United States. At what point do we say enough already? The answer is NOW!

Human trafficking cannot be ignored or denied any longer. This topic can be extremely uncomfortable to acknowledge, but we can make a difference by being proactive. This is a matter of life and death!

Every one of us has the potential to discover and report a human trafficking situation. While some victims are kept behind locked doors, others are often hidden right in front of us in such locations as construction sites, restaurants, elder care centers, nail salons, agricultural fields, escort services, truck stops, and hotels. You can learn indicators of human trafficking and effective questions you can ask in order to empower yourself to act when your gut tells you that something is wrong and make a real difference.

Traffickers’ use of coercion — such as threats of deportation or physical harm to the victim or family members — is so powerful that, even if you reach out to victims, they may be too fearful to reach out for or accept your help. Therefore, it is important to recognize the enormous amount of courage it takes if a trafficked victim to reach out for help and action should be taken immediately to remove them from their abuser. When a human trafficked victim does reach out to someone, they probably want out now.

The suggestions set forth in this article are not exhaustive and are merely a starting point. Starting the conversation and educating ourselves and others is the critical first step in ending human trafficking.

What to look for
Some key red flags to alert you to a potential trafficking situation that should be reported:

– Suspected victim is living with employer;

– Poor living conditions, including blocking windows so others cannot see inside;

– Multiple children/people in cramped space and rarely seen, with numerous adults coming in and out of the property;

– Inability to speak to a suspected victim alone;

– If you are able to speak with the suspected victim, the answers appear to be scripted and rehearsed;

– Employer is holding identity documents;

– Signs of physical abuse;

– Suspected victim appears submissive or fearful;

– Very little or no payment;

– Prostitution of children under 18.

Questions to ask:
Assuming you have the opportunity to speak with a potential victim privately and without jeopardizing the victim’s safety, here are some sample questions to ask:

– Can you leave your job if you want to?

– Can you come and go as you please?

– If you have tried to leave, have you been hurt or threatened?

– Has your family been threatened?

– Do you live with your employer?

– Where do you sleep and eat?

– Are you in debt to your employer?

– Do you have your passport/identification? Who has it?

Where to get help and education about human trafficking
If you believe you have identified someone currently in the trafficking situation, alert local law enforcement immediately by calling 911. You may also want to alert the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, a national 24-hour, toll-free, multilingual anti-trafficking hotline. It may be unsafe to attempt to rescue a trafficking victim on your own. You have no way of knowing how the trafficker may react and retaliate against the victim or you.

If, however, you identify a victim who has escaped the trafficking situation, there are a number of organizations to whom the victim can be referred for help with shelter, medical care, legal assistance, and other critical services. Call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to report a tip, connect with anti-trafficking services in your area, or request training and technical assistance, general information, or specific anti-trafficking resources. The Hotline is equipped to handle calls from all regions of the United States from a wide range of callers, including potential trafficking victims, community members, law enforcement, medical professionals, legal professionals, service providers, researchers, students, and policymakers.

Polaris, another nonprofit organization, provides human trafficking victims and survivors with critical support, local resources, training, and solutions to eradicate human trafficking. You can contact them to get help and stay safe through the BeFree Text line (text HELP to 233733) or 202-790-6300.

Everyone wants human trafficking stopped. Starting a discussion and educating others will make a difference! Will you accept this challenge?

This week’s question comes from Karen in the East Bay, who writes:

Q: “Chris, I need your advice. I took my car to a neighborhood car wash. While I was going through the wash, the car behind me accelerated and rear-ended my car. At the time, I was reaching for papers in the glove compartment. The force from the collision, while not great, was enough to shove my head into the dashboard. I ended up with a nasty gash above my eye that required stitches and may leave a permanent scar. I also suffered a neck injury, which hopefully will heal through physical therapy. I don’t know how the driver of the car behind me hit me. It might not matter. He doesn’t have car insurance. The car wash owner claims he has no responsibility because there was nothing wrong with the car wash’s machinery. My friends joke that I got into a collision inside a car wash. I am not laughing. Incredibly, I am already looking at more than $10,000 in hospital and medical bills. What should I do?”

A: Karen, I am sorry to learn of your injuries and how others have reacted. Often, an accident that can appear to some as only having caused a minor injury can actually have resulted in a significant injury.

At the outset, is there a police report? If not, go to the station nearest the car wash and have them fill one out. Insurance company that handle auto-related claims will want to see a police report.

You should reach out to the car wash’s liability insurance company. The manager should be able to give you that contact information. Since the incident occurred on their property, they most likely have medical payments coverage, which helps defray medical bills, regardless of who is at fault, for injuries suffered on the premises. There is no deductible for this coverage. Call now to get this benefit so your credit doesn’t get hurt for unpaid medical bills.

Hopefully you had auto insurance on your vehicle. Auto insurance falls into five basic categories: liability coverage, comprehensive coverage, collision coverage, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and medical payments coverage.

Liability insurance covers a driver who causes an accident. Comprehensive insurance covers damage or loss due to a non-accident, such as theft, falling trees and cracked windshields. Neither liability nor comprehensive coverage applies in your situation. However, the other three types of auto insurance, to the extent that your purchased them, are relevant.

Collision insurance repairs or replaces your car if it is damaged in an accident regardless of who is at fault. Your collision policy should cover the damage to your car, minus your deductible. If you get hit by an at-fault driver who has no insurance or inadequate insurance, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may pick up the difference to the level of your coverage. Uninsured/underinsured coverage will compensate you for past and future medical expenses, lost wages and your physical and emotional pain and suffering.

If your auto policy includes medical payments insurance, your auto carrier may help pay off some of your outstanding bills. Make sure that you confirm the limits and procedures for receiving reimbursement from your carrier.

Karen, I also suggest you consult with an experienced trial attorney to review your case. The damages you suffered may exceed the various vehicle policies particularly if you need plastic surgery to remove the scar above your eye or your neck requires injections or surgery. The culpability, if any, of the business needs to be evaluated.

Under California Civil Code, Section 1714, “Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for any injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person …”

All businesses owe a duty to protect their customers from unreasonable risk of harm or injury. It’s imperative that car washes inform customers — through either clear, visible signage or an attendant — when to enter, stop and place their vehicle into either neutral or park. Believe it or not, we have handled several serious car wash injury cases involving injury to the attendant as well as those involving harm to the drivers. In the wrong combination, cars, water, soap and machinery can be deadly.

A skilled trial lawyer should put the car wash on notice that an investigation is underway and request that all video and photos taken on the date of your injury be preserved. They should also inspect the car wash and develop a clear understanding of how the collision occurred.

This doesn’t require a law degree, just the cost of a car wash. An iPhone or GoPro can record the signage and sequencing. Often, car washes video record their operations. Your attorney should evaluate whether clear warning signs were displayed at drivers’ eye level at the entrance to the car wash. Were the instructions only in English? As we live in a multi-lingual society, the issue of language should be evaluated along with whether there was an attendant stationed near the entrance of the car wash to confirm the driver saw and understood the instructions and put the car in neutral.

We have seen situations where, in a fully automated system, the light said enter before the car in front had cleared the wash. We have also seen situations where the car wash attendant, being distracted, kept waiving a car to keep proceeding forward as the car hit the one in front of it. Likewise, we have seen situations where people feel the bump of the roller and, having left the car in drive, hit the gas (thinking they were breaking) slamming into the car in front of them.

Karen, I hope that you heal quickly. In the meantime, follow the instructions above to best protect and preserve your rights.

This week’s question comes from Mayra B. in the Presidio, who asks:

Q: “I was recently rear-ended by a vehicle while I was stopped at a red traffic light. My car was wrecked and my leg was injured. I thought this would be an easy process as I didn’t do anything wrong. However, when I called my insurance company, they said my policy had lapsed. I was surprised to hear this because I always pay my car insurance on time; however I had recently moved to a new place and had not realized that I had forgotten to pay my insurance premium. After speaking to a lawyer, I found out that I could sue the other driver to get my car repaired, my hospital bills paid, and my time off work paid, but I cannot obtain compensation for my pain and suffering. How is this possible? It was not my fault.”

A: Mayra, thank you for your question. Unfortunately, the information your lawyer gave you is correct. In 1996, California voters passed the Personal Responsibility Act, known as Proposition 213, codified in the California Civil Code Sections 3333.3 & 3333.4. Prop 213 bars uninsured drivers from recovering for non-economic damages if they were not insured at the time of the collision.

California Civil Code Section 3333.4 states: “in any action to recover damages arising out of the operation or use of a motor vehicle, no person shall recover non-economic losses to compensate for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, and other nonpecuniary damages if . . . [t]he injured person was the owner of a vehicle involved in the accident and the vehicle was not insured as required by the financial responsibility laws of this state.” You may be wondering, “How could this be?”, especially for someone like yourself who only experienced a momentary lapse in insurance coverage. The answer is that Proposition 213 was framed as a law intended to punish drunk drivers and fleeing felons from obtaining compensation for pain and suffering. However, many voters did not realize that the proposition also sandwiched uninsured drivers between the drunk drivers and fleeing felons.

As a result of Prop 213, California law now restricts damages for injured car owners and drivers in three situations: 1) where the driver themselves is convicted of DUI; 2) where the driver owns the vehicle and does not have the state minimum liability insurance at the time of the accident; and 3) when injury is sustained while committing a crime or fleeing from a crime which they are later convicted of as a felony.

Under Prop 213, an uninsured driver can still obtain compensation for special damages. Special damages are items that are quantifiable such as property damage, medical bills, and loss of earnings. However, the law restricts the uninsured driver from obtaining compensation for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, physical impairment, disfigurement, inconvenience, and emotional distress.

There are some exceptions to the restrictions Prop 213 imposed. For example, a car owner or driver who does not have insurance coverage may recover for their non-economic damages if he/she was operating their employer’s uninsured vehicle, since the responsibility to insure the vehicle falls on the employer, not the employee driver. Another exception allows noneconomic damages when the accident occurs on private property, because state law only requires drivers to have auto liability insurance to drive on public roadways, not on private property. Prop 213 restrictions will also not apply if a driver borrows a vehicle that does not have insurance coverage, but the driver did have insurance coverage on another car. Lastly, Prop 213 does not apply to a passenger who was injured while riding in an uninsured vehicle. Unfortunately, there is no exception for drivers who were uninsured due to an unintentional lapse in insurance, no matter how brief.

Due to the complexity of this law, it is important you contact a qualified trial lawyer to review the situation to see if one of the other exceptions applies to you.

If you were injured in an accident as a result of someone’s negligence, you still have the right to seek compensation for your economic damages such as your property damage, medical bills and lost wages, even if Prop 213 applies to your case. However the best practice is to make sure that you have insurance on your vehicle. Having vehicle insurance will protect you in the event that you harm someone else in a vehicle accident, but it will also allow you to be fully compensated if you are injured by another driver.

“It ought to concern every person, because of our common humanity. It ought to concern every community, because it tears at our social fabric. It ought to concern every business, because it distorts markets. It ought to concern every nation, because it endangers public health and fuels violence and organized crime. I’m talking about the injustice, the outrage, of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name — modern slavery.” – President Barack Obama, Sept. 25, 2012

The most common forms of human trafficking are sex trafficking, forced labor and debt bondage. While any form of human trafficking is reprehensible and deserves attention, the focus of this article will be sexually exploited children. This is a difficult and uncomfortable topic, but denial and silence is killing and permanently harming our children.

Sexual exploitation of children by force, fraud, or coercion in the United States is misunderstood. Many believe it happens in other countries, not right before our eyes in the United States.

The reality is that human trafficking is modern slavery that happens everywhere, affects every race and crosses all social classes, and is woefully underreported because the victims are not visible. Sex-trafficked children are often “reused” for rape sometimes more than 12 times a day. The United States Department of State documented a case of one child being raped more than one thousand times.

Not until 2003 did the first state, Washington, criminalized human trafficking. Despite federal and state legislation in ensuing years, the sex trafficking serpent has continued to proliferate at an alarming rate.

The latest federal law, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017, takes the important step of broadening the accountability net, providing an instrument to cut the head off the serpent and eventually put an end to this violence and abuse. Now, “facilitators” financially benefitting or receiving anything of value from participation in a venture which has engaged in sex trafficking can be held civilly and criminally responsible. Examples include truck stops, hotels, and social media advertisers receiving money through the sale of goods or services, leasing real estate or renting hotel and motel rooms. It is important that customers of these businesses keep an eye out and report to law enforcement any behavior or circumstances suggesting the presence of sex trafficking (see Red Flag Warnings, below).

THE NUMBERS
1.6 Million homeless children on the streets at any one time, many having run away or been abducted. A large proportion of these children are victims of neglect or physical or sexual abuse.

1.5 Million sex-trafficked victims in the United States.

35.7 percent rise in sex trafficking in the United States between 2015 and 2016.

14 & 10 percent of girls and boys, respectively, under age 18 bought and sold every year and sexually violated.

The average age of commercially sex trafficked children is 11-14 years.

58 percent of LGBTQ homeless children are sexually exploited annually.

$650,000 is the potential annual earnings of sex trafficker violating as little as four children.

300,000 United States children at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation annually.

7 years is the average child’s life span beginning on the first day they are exploited (from all causes including suicide, physical violence, disease, malnutrition, and overdose)

SECRET CODE EXAMPLES TO HIDE TRAFFICKING
-Lot Lizards: Commercially sexually exploited victims brought in droves to nationwide truck stops and sexually exploited.

-Facilitators: Legitimate businesses such as hotels, airlines, bus and rail companies, advertisers like Craigslist.com, alternative newspapers, banks and other financial services companies, truck stops, landlords, social media including Facebook and Twitter, bars, strip clubs, massage parlors, escort services, and on and on and on.

-Quota: Amount often set between $300 and $2,000 a trafficking victim must make each night before she/he can go “home.”

-Leash: Narcotics, typically heroin and meth, used to control victims.

RED FLAG WARNINGS
-Physical Appearance – Injuries/signs of abuse such as burn marks, bruises, cuts, or unhealthy thinness; tattoo(s) displaying a man’s name, symbol of money, or barcode; sexualized behavior; provocative dress considering age group and/or weather conditions.

-Possessions – Very few personal possessions, no identification, multiple hotel keys or key cards, prepaid cell phone.

-Behavior – Talk about an older boyfriend, sex with an older man, making lots of money and/or wild parties; claims of being an adult; stories that do not add up; fear of authority figures; withdrawn, depressed, distracted or checked out affect.

-Unusual Circumstances – Twenty girls in one hotel room; groups of children outside trucks stopped at truck stops; multiple children living in a home with boarded up windows and numerous cars where the children are rarely seen.

If you see something, DO something! You just might save a life.

This week’s question comes from Danny T., who asks:

Q: “I work in construction and a lot of times I work outside in the heat and cold. Other times, when I am in the shack doing paperwork, they keep it way too hot, like 80 degrees. Are there rules about this that I should know — like, can they make me work in the rain, or send me home with no pay if it is too wet to work?”

A: Thanks for your question, Danny. It is important to know your rights in the workplace. You didn’t mention whether you were a member of a union but, if you are, the first place to look for answers would be your Collective Bargaining Agreement. If that doesn’t specify relevant terms, or if you are not a union member, then regulations administered by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration would govern your situation.

I will address two issues you raise here: (1) Rules for working outside during weather events; and (2) Temperature requirements in indoor areas.

Working outside, as you know, creates a number of issues related to a worker’s health, safety and comfort, especially when workers are exposed to heat, cold, rain or snow. Heat illness can be deadly. In 2005, California became the first state to adopt a heat illness prevention standard to protect outdoor workers. Under California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 3395, employers are required to provide employees who work outdoors with free and reasonably cool water, a place of shade, cool-down rest breaks, and training on how to recognize and prevent heat illness. When the heat is more extreme, over 95 degrees, employers must implement special High-Heat procedures to monitor workers.

Cold weather can also present serious dangers to outside workers. Cal/OSHA recognizes and warns of the dangers cold-stress presents, particularly hypothermia, frostbite and trench-foot. However, unlike heat, there are no specific standards or requirements employers must follow at either the state or federal level. However, under the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers are required to provide their employees with a place of employment that “is free from recognizable hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees.” California also has a catch-all standard, California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 3203, that requires most employers to establish and implement an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program (“IIPP”).

These general standards are also applicable to rain and snow. An employer can require that people work outside in the rain, but if the weather conditions make the outdoor worksite too dangerous, the employer has a responsibility to cease the work. If the cancellation occurs part way through the work day, you may be entitled to “reporting time pay,” or compensation for 50 percent of the time you had been scheduled to work. This requirement is subject to exceptions for utility failures and “acts of God,” such as earthquakes. Unfortunately, if work is cancelled prior to the start of the work day, there is no obligation to pay affected workers.

There is also no current mandated standard for indoor workplace temperature at either the state or federal level. The United States Department of Labor does, however, make a recommendation in its technical manual: employers should maintain indoor temperature in the range of 68-76° F, with humidity in the range of 20 percent — 60 percent. The Cal/OSHA appeals board has also upheld citations against warehouse operators whose prevention program failed to address indoor temperature regulation, leading to employee injury. (National Distribution Center, Cal/OSHA App. 12-R6D2-0391, 12-R6D2-0378, Decision After Reconsideration (Oct. 5, 2015)).

The concern over the lack of specific rules for indoor workers is increasing. In 2016, then Gov. Brown signed a bill directing Cal/OSHA to draft and propose standards for indoor worksites “that minimizes heat-related illness and injury among workers working in indoor places of employment.” A draft standard was circulated to Advisory Committees in October of last year that proposed requiring employers, when indoor workplaces rise above 82 degrees, to provide cool-down places, make policies requiring or providing appropriate clothing, and implement training and a heat-illness plan. However, this standard has not yet been enacted.

If you are ever asked to work in an environment that is unsafe, it is a good idea to document your opposition in writing to your employer and Cal/OSHA. The law protects workers who oppose unsafe working conditions: California Labor Code 6310 makes it unlawful for an employer to retaliate against a worker who makes this type of complaint. If you do suffer retaliation for opposing an unsafe work environment, immediately reach out to a quality employment lawyer, such as those at Dolan Law Firm, PC.

This week’s question coincides with baseball season, which is the perfect time of year for me to remind readers of an important legal issue relating to their enjoyment of America’s pastime:

Q: “Who is responsible if someone gets hit with a line drive, foul ball or broken bat while watching a game?”

A: As a lawyer — and a big Giants fan — I like to start off the season by reminding people to put down your cellphone and keep your eye on the ball during play. A distraction can lead to serious and even life-threatening injury.

Balls and bats leaving the playing field and entering the stands are not uncommon. Indeed, Bloomberg reported in 2014 that roughly 1,750 spectators a year are injured by batted balls at all of the major league ballparks throughout the United States. The study showed spectators were much more likely to be hit with an errant ball than a player was to be hit with a pitch. While most injuries, thankfully, are minor, there are reports of severe injuries and even death due the use of wooden bats and presence of 90 mph fastballs.

In a 2015 Boston Globe article, baseball statistician Edwin Comber said about 73 percent of foul balls go into the stands. A 2000 lawsuit against the Boston Red Sox revealed that during a five-year period in the 1990s, 36 to 53 fans per year were hit by balls outside the field of play. Indeed, there have been reports of serious head injuries, skull fractures and even brain injuries as a result of bats and balls entering the stands.

As fans demand to be ever-closer to the action, and as high-priced seats are moved closer to the field, the risk of injury goes up — just as fast as the price.

The issue of liability for fans’ injuries was addressed by the California Supreme Court in 1935, in the case of Quinn v. Recreation Park Ass’n. The court held that one of the natural risks assumed by fans attending major league games is that of being struck by batted or thrown balls. The court ruled the franchise and/or park owner/operator is not required, nor does it undertake, to insure patrons against injury from such source. All that is required is the exercise of ordinary care to protect patrons against such injuries. Management is not obliged to make each seat safe from flying balls. The court pointed out that many patrons prefer to sit where their view is not obscured by a screen. The duty imposed by law is performed when screened seats are provided for as many as may be reasonably expected to call for them on any ordinary occasion and if a spectator chooses to occupy an unscreened seat or is unable to buy a screened seat and chooses to occupy one that is not protected, she/he “assumes the risk of being struck by thrown or batted balls; and, if injured thereby, is precluded from recovering damages therefore.”

In Neinstein v. Los Angeles Dodgers Inc. (1985), the Court of Appeals held “the quality of a spectator’s experience in witnessing a baseball game depends on his or her proximity to the field of play and the clarity of the view, not to mention the price of the ticket. As we see it, to permit a plaintiff to recover under the circumstances here would force baseball stadium owners to do one of two things: One, place all spectator areas behind a protective screen, thereby reducing the quality of everyone’s view and changing the very nature of the game, since players are often able to reach into the spectator area to catch foul balls; or two, continue the status quo and increase the price of tickets to cover the cost of compensating injured persons with the result that persons of meager means might be “priced out” of enjoying the great American pastime.

To me, neither alternative is acceptable. It is not the role of the courts to effect a wholesale remodeling of a revered American institution through application of the tort law. This decision was in line with one handed down in Ratcliff v. San Diego Baseball Club of Pacific Coast League (1938), in which the Court of Appeals held that a spectator who voluntarily occupies an unprotected seat assumes the risk of being struck by thrown or batted balls.

As with almost everything, there are some exceptions in this line of legal reasoning. For example, the courts have held that a franchise may be held liable for injury that occurred while a mascot distracted a fan during play, resulting in a fly ball to the face. (Lowe v. California League of Prof. Baseball (1997). No one is liable for a bat that inadvertently gets loose if the park owners have provided some areas of protected seating and have adequately screened the areas most likely to be at risk of flying balls and bats.

Just remember: The nosebleed seats may prevent you from getting a bloody nose.

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