Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
If the mother of a 27 year old daughter threatens to fire her daughter (the mom is her boss) if she does not file a restraining order against the daughters boyfriend, is this legal?
1 Answer from Attorneys
If there is no contract of employment, the daughter is an at will employee who can be fired for any or no reason. So even though it legally is none of the mother's business, she might claim that the boyfriend makes the daughter less fit to work [hits her, causes emotional upset, takes her out drinking heavily], But threatening a person with jail if they do not do something can be considered at times extortion. Presuming the boyfriend will violate the restraining order, is the mother forcing the daughter to commit an act that will result in a person going to jail? Is it indirect extortion?
Perhaps one of our criminal law experts can off a more reliably rersponse.