Is it against the law for you to work?

Post Reply New Topic

I have heard rumors that it is illegal in some regions for people to be employed for free just because they want to do the work.

I know that a lot of people who identify as aspie have a great work ethic and want to make a difference or just do their work of choice without so much of an importance on income.
I know that many of you (us) are obsessed with a subject that has allowed you to develop practical skills or knowledge.

So here are the questions:
Is it legal for you to work for free?
Would you be willing to do a task you would identify with employment for free even once?
Is there "raw opportunity" out there for you to work, but since you aren't employed, you don't do the work?
Do you doggedly work at something, maybe a mental task, a data sorting/filtering/creation task, that you could make money from but don't?

For me, the answer is simple. Yes to all of the above. I will never stop.

(time for a rant)
I have been planning many strategies for how to create a truly free world, similar to Star Trek TNG, but I can't implement these strategies without a lot of people! I think I've finally figured out how to do this thing, but I need to find a bunch of interested people, and a bunch of people who are driven to help organize.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "truly free world". Do you mean free of costs? If so, you are wasting your time.

A world where everything is free would quickly degenerate into one that is either very totalitarian or completely nonfunctional.

It's not illegal to "volunteer."

It is illegal to not pay someone for their labor.

Local (state in the USA) and federal laws may define when a person crosses from being a volunteer to being an employee. Often, there are limits as to what kinds of tasks they can be given and how many hours they can work, and it also varies based on who is the benefiting party.

Just going into a shop and offering your services for free is problematic because of the liability it may expose the other party to.

If you are not paid, you might still be considered an "employee" by many programs.

If you are hurt on the job, the other party might have to pay "worker's compensation" claims.

If you cause damages to someone else, the other party might be legally liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

It's not a simple question.

eric76 - opinions... the system is degenerate right now compared to the one that I've been researching.

zer0netgain - sorry, I didn't mean hypothetically, I meant according to your personal situation.

Volunteers and interns generally work for "coffee and donuts", although the interns also get school credit. In both cases, the individual AND the employer must give free-will consent to the practice (there are tax forms to fill out); but wage-earners must surrender part of their wages to taxes, Social Security, and other agreed-upon deductions.

Otherwise, an employer can not legally withhold from you the wages that you have earned and are entitled to.

Surely you can provide a better response than a rather blah response that conveys no meaningful information at all.

He's referring to a Star Trek utopia.

Two problems

1.) Much of the utopia is hinted to be based on replicators eliminating poverty.

2.) In the years before Star Trek, humanity undergoes a devastating nuclear world war 3. It's hinted that WW3 produced a major shift in humanity, reducing or eliminating the negative behaviors like greed and power lust that would ruin such a project today.

Not quite.

Yeah, WW3 happened, but it was first contact with the Vulcans that made humanity realize they were not alone. With the advent of warp drive (which caught the Vulcan's attention), space travel was now a realistic goal, and there was a change in global consciousness.

Replicators didn't really exist even to the original series Star Trek. The concept of them came into play more with the movies and next generation. Even then, as we saw in Deep Space Nine, federation worlds had it better than non-Federation worlds, and Federation colonies didn't always have it as good as home worlds.

Space travel would definitely do much to eliminate poverty because things of value would be easy to acquire from off-world sources. With an abundance of cheap energy and raw materials, everyone can enjoy a good quality of life without danger of scarcity. Still, those who want to acquire wealth wind up going elsewhere where they can find their fortune (e.g., dilithum miners/prospectors),

Money is a nice motivator, but it is also just a concept, as proven by the almost complete global digitization of currency.
Just like any motivator is. It can be a dream given to a child by a television commercial to own the greatest sports car.
Many people with the most money are in mental breakdown for various money related reasons.
If you don't think that politicians are at the top of the system, then you'd be horribly mistaken.
They are the source of the stratification between rich and poor. Them on top. Poor people at the bottom.
They're the ones passing laws forcing people NOT to work, while they spread the lie that people who aren't employed are worthless.
They're the ones who ultimately decide the cost of living. The greedier they are, the more expensive it is.
Society is losing cohesion. People don't care about their neighbors even when they share the same building. If one burns they all burn.

The only thing keeping this sick system together is what has always kept it together. Try Maslow's heirarchy of needs for example.
I think what stopped people from creating the Star Trek system long ago was the lack of people who were obsessed against all odds to work at their dreams. I have read about countless such people just on this forum. This is not considered to be a disease, it's a new way of thinking, a biological revolution, not so much a political or social one. Aspies are the specialists, NT's are the generalists. Specialists always win in this era of humanity, that is why, even though we have so many problems, we win. Generalists, as a rule, simply don't have the maximum capacity that specialists have. Look it up, it's in all levels of engineering theory.

I wonder how many AS vs NT would, for instance, would violate traffic laws just for fun, or purposefully humiliate a target group just to enjoy themselves, or cause a group of people to suffer and even die just because of some kind of superficial trait they share. I don't see people with AS rising up against the NT's oppression even though they deserve to, even though I'm convinced they are fully capable of such action. It's just not a practical idea. It would be grossly wasteful, and wouldn't evoke much in the way of an emotional response. Mostly I see people with AS reaching out, offering an "olive branch" of peace, and trying to understand. These are people who are fulfilled in their interests and goals rather than desire to feel fleeting pleasures and carry out perverse whims. Of course there are exceptions.

Anyways, it's just a grand scheme now, but once I become "able," with help, I am going to pursue this dream as far as I can take it.

Meanwhile, because I didn't take the opportunity to gain self-care skills, and because I'm very absent-minded, I'm still in the process of gaining independence so that I can get a formal education. Once that's started, you can bet you'll be hearing about me.

Why doesn't some rich aspie start a nice big fully accommodated educational/employment facility for people of every age on the spectrum?
Don't worry, I'll figure out how to get rich and make it happen. Maybe. Hopefully. Possibly......

The holodecks and also probably the replicators on Star Trek are based off the same principle as the transporters. The transporters are the most far-fetched technology shown on starfleet ships, and they're probably impossible.

Sort of based on a principle that any magical-feat is theoretically possible if you have advanced enough technology.