Hi,

I have a really messed up situation happening with my brother, so I'm asking these questions for him. We recently moved to Michigan. My brother, James (changing names for anonymity sake), got a job at a car dealership as a porter.

A few weeks into his job we damaged a truck. The dealership had a plow parked in a weird spot and he scratched up the paint job while his manager was out of town. This is where it starts to get really messy... The manager that was filling in while the real manager was away had my brother sign a 'warning' paperwork on his phone but wouldn't let my brother read the contents of the 'warning'. I have since chastised my brother for signing something he didn't read. Neither of us have a clue what he signed because he wasn't able to read it and a copy was not provided to him. When the manager returned from his trip, he spoke to my brother about the accident but there was no mention of my brother paying for any damages and we both assumed this happens in the portering business and that insurance takes care of it. Accidents happen.

But my brother comes home today pretty upset because they withheld $25 from his paycheck without ever telling him that they were doing that. (Unless of course it was in the mysterious thing he signed but could not read.) Can they do that in Michigan? Also, could we claim that he was coerced into signing the document if it was something saying he would pay for the damages if they would not let him read it or give him a physical copy?

If you have any other questions about this problem I'll be happy to fill in details.