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estiriseI had this plot bunny, and I finally had the inspiration to write it out. Hopefully, everybody's IC; I'm way behind on Jungle Fury.
And, oh yes, I don't own any of these folks except for Mr. Ramirez and Ms. Winters.
Title: RJ and the (Surprisingly Pleasant?) Government Inspectors
Author: Estirose
Fandom: Power Rangers Jungle Fury
Rating: 8+
Spoilers: None beyond the first episode, really. Set very early on in the series.
Summary: If his students can handle Dai Shi, RJ can handle some government inspectors.
RJ should have expected them. Government inspectors were the bane of any place, and while he tried to go with the flow of things, they had a bad tendency to disrupt said flow. But still, he smiled when the two of them asked for the owner. "I'm the owner," he said, studying the cards. Ms. Angelica Winters and Mr. Jose Ramirez. Department of Labor Regulations and the Department of Human Resources Development, respectively. They weren't in suits, but he guessed that government field inspectors wouldn't be into that sort of thing.
"We're here to make sure that your employees are getting paid properly and that you're meeting labor requirements," Mr. Ramirez said. "If it's all right with you, we'd like to talk to your employees."
RJ nodded. "That's fine." The three Rangers knew how to not talk about the things they didn't need to talk about, and Fran didn't know. "Casey! Get over here!"
Casey walked over, obviously confused. "This is Ms. Winters, she's from the government. Ms. Winters, this is Casey."
"Um, right," Casey said, while the woman looked at him as if she expected him to run at any moment. Or maybe faint.
"Thank you," Ms. Winters said, taking out a pen. "Hello, Casey. I have a few questions for you...." She smiled. It actually wasn't too bad.
In the meantime, her partner was off on the phone, talking to someone about workers' compensation and the fact that the person couldn't find it. Which wasn't surprising, as RJ hadn't even thought of getting one before Fran mentioned it. It had been quite a hit in the pocketbook, but RJ believed in cooperating with the law, and... well, taxes and insurance weren't fun, but it wasn't like the government knew what else Casey, Lily, and Theo did. For that matter, he was glad the insurance people didn't know what they did as Rangers. That would raise his premiums through the roof.
Ms. Winters came back from interviewing Casey. "No Workers' Comp on the database," Mr. Ramirez said to Ms. Winters. "I just had Damia check again. Nothing."
"Right," Ms. Winters said. "Can you show me a copy of your Workers' Compensation policy?" she asked, smiling. It was a businesslike smile, but at least it was a smile.
RJ smiled back and took it out of its binder, thanking Fran silently once more that she'd thought of all this stuff. She'd apparently did a lot of reading, reading that was paying off for him. In the next hour, in between customers, the two agents questioned him and his staff about breaks and posters and everything.
"One day, I was out taking care of some emergency things, left my front door unlocked, and... well, Fran started serving pizza," RJ explained to Ms. Winters. "And then I realized that it was great to have employees. Another friend asked me to take Casey, Lily, and Theo on, so I did."
"So, you've had employees how long?" Ms. Winters asked, raising her eyebrows. He wondered if a lot of people claimed that they'd hired their employees in the last week or two. She sounded like she'd heard that before.
"A week and a half," RJ said. "They get room and board and a paycheck. They're not volunteers." Well, at least in the pizza work; the whole Ranger thing was unpaid.
Ms. Winters nodded, making a note on her form. And then she asked another question. And another. And another.
"Thank you for your time," Mr. Ramirez said finally, after the two of them were satisfied. "If you want, my office runs seminars with the IRS on how to do payroll taxes; the schedule's on our website." RJ made a mental note to ask Fran to look into it for him. Her ideas about the Workers Compensation insurance and those posters had certainly been sound.
"And if you want to learn more about labor law," Ms. Winters said, "Our website is there for you too, or we have an office - well, nearby."
"Good luck with your business," Mr. Ramirez said, which Ms. Winters echoed.
They left, smiling. RJ slumped back in relief.
* * *
"So," Fran said, "I guess they were kind of worried, because apparently they weren't sure everything was legit, but I know I did my homework, and the posters are up, and we take breaks, even if you have to remind me to, and I think they were happy."
RJ was still amazed at Fran's ability to combine so much into one long sentence. At least she remembered to take a breath at the end. "Good," he said, smiling encouragingly. "I couldn't have done it without you, Fran." Actually, it hadn't gone too badly; if he could help handle Dai Shi, he could certainly go with the flow when it came to the Government.
"They were intense," Casey said as he came by. "Asking questions about how things were, and if we were getting paid, and everything. And then the lady gave me this flier and let me know that we had rights." He paused. "We are getting paid, right?"
"Well, of course you're getting paid," Fran said, before he could respond. "I gave RJ some lists of good software so he can do the taxes and everything!" RJ nodded. He really didn't want to pay payroll taxes, but Fran didn't know that the others were Rangers, and it would seem really weird that she was the only one getting the paycheck.
He grinned mentally at that. Spending time around Fran certainly gave him energy, extra energy to worry more than he usually did. He soothed the energy with inward discipline. "When you train, you prepare for anything. Including Government inspectors." Besides, he'd take the inspectors over Dai Shi any day. Any day at all.
Leaning back, he surveyed his crew. Yes, if the students could take on Dai Shi's forces and win, the Government was no problem at all....
And, oh yes, I don't own any of these folks except for Mr. Ramirez and Ms. Winters.
Title: RJ and the (Surprisingly Pleasant?) Government Inspectors
Author: Estirose
Fandom: Power Rangers Jungle Fury
Rating: 8+
Spoilers: None beyond the first episode, really. Set very early on in the series.
Summary: If his students can handle Dai Shi, RJ can handle some government inspectors.
RJ should have expected them. Government inspectors were the bane of any place, and while he tried to go with the flow of things, they had a bad tendency to disrupt said flow. But still, he smiled when the two of them asked for the owner. "I'm the owner," he said, studying the cards. Ms. Angelica Winters and Mr. Jose Ramirez. Department of Labor Regulations and the Department of Human Resources Development, respectively. They weren't in suits, but he guessed that government field inspectors wouldn't be into that sort of thing.
"We're here to make sure that your employees are getting paid properly and that you're meeting labor requirements," Mr. Ramirez said. "If it's all right with you, we'd like to talk to your employees."
RJ nodded. "That's fine." The three Rangers knew how to not talk about the things they didn't need to talk about, and Fran didn't know. "Casey! Get over here!"
Casey walked over, obviously confused. "This is Ms. Winters, she's from the government. Ms. Winters, this is Casey."
"Um, right," Casey said, while the woman looked at him as if she expected him to run at any moment. Or maybe faint.
"Thank you," Ms. Winters said, taking out a pen. "Hello, Casey. I have a few questions for you...." She smiled. It actually wasn't too bad.
In the meantime, her partner was off on the phone, talking to someone about workers' compensation and the fact that the person couldn't find it. Which wasn't surprising, as RJ hadn't even thought of getting one before Fran mentioned it. It had been quite a hit in the pocketbook, but RJ believed in cooperating with the law, and... well, taxes and insurance weren't fun, but it wasn't like the government knew what else Casey, Lily, and Theo did. For that matter, he was glad the insurance people didn't know what they did as Rangers. That would raise his premiums through the roof.
Ms. Winters came back from interviewing Casey. "No Workers' Comp on the database," Mr. Ramirez said to Ms. Winters. "I just had Damia check again. Nothing."
"Right," Ms. Winters said. "Can you show me a copy of your Workers' Compensation policy?" she asked, smiling. It was a businesslike smile, but at least it was a smile.
RJ smiled back and took it out of its binder, thanking Fran silently once more that she'd thought of all this stuff. She'd apparently did a lot of reading, reading that was paying off for him. In the next hour, in between customers, the two agents questioned him and his staff about breaks and posters and everything.
"One day, I was out taking care of some emergency things, left my front door unlocked, and... well, Fran started serving pizza," RJ explained to Ms. Winters. "And then I realized that it was great to have employees. Another friend asked me to take Casey, Lily, and Theo on, so I did."
"So, you've had employees how long?" Ms. Winters asked, raising her eyebrows. He wondered if a lot of people claimed that they'd hired their employees in the last week or two. She sounded like she'd heard that before.
"A week and a half," RJ said. "They get room and board and a paycheck. They're not volunteers." Well, at least in the pizza work; the whole Ranger thing was unpaid.
Ms. Winters nodded, making a note on her form. And then she asked another question. And another. And another.
"Thank you for your time," Mr. Ramirez said finally, after the two of them were satisfied. "If you want, my office runs seminars with the IRS on how to do payroll taxes; the schedule's on our website." RJ made a mental note to ask Fran to look into it for him. Her ideas about the Workers Compensation insurance and those posters had certainly been sound.
"And if you want to learn more about labor law," Ms. Winters said, "Our website is there for you too, or we have an office - well, nearby."
"Good luck with your business," Mr. Ramirez said, which Ms. Winters echoed.
They left, smiling. RJ slumped back in relief.
* * *
"So," Fran said, "I guess they were kind of worried, because apparently they weren't sure everything was legit, but I know I did my homework, and the posters are up, and we take breaks, even if you have to remind me to, and I think they were happy."
RJ was still amazed at Fran's ability to combine so much into one long sentence. At least she remembered to take a breath at the end. "Good," he said, smiling encouragingly. "I couldn't have done it without you, Fran." Actually, it hadn't gone too badly; if he could help handle Dai Shi, he could certainly go with the flow when it came to the Government.
"They were intense," Casey said as he came by. "Asking questions about how things were, and if we were getting paid, and everything. And then the lady gave me this flier and let me know that we had rights." He paused. "We are getting paid, right?"
"Well, of course you're getting paid," Fran said, before he could respond. "I gave RJ some lists of good software so he can do the taxes and everything!" RJ nodded. He really didn't want to pay payroll taxes, but Fran didn't know that the others were Rangers, and it would seem really weird that she was the only one getting the paycheck.
He grinned mentally at that. Spending time around Fran certainly gave him energy, extra energy to worry more than he usually did. He soothed the energy with inward discipline. "When you train, you prepare for anything. Including Government inspectors." Besides, he'd take the inspectors over Dai Shi any day. Any day at all.
Leaning back, he surveyed his crew. Yes, if the students could take on Dai Shi's forces and win, the Government was no problem at all....
