Read before you sign

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 Corunna Coal Company 1890 Union Contract

We live in a society that values orderliness. We like to know whose turn it is to proceed when we reach a four-way stop. We like to know what to expect in a given situation. This is the benefit that law can provide us. We like to know what is expected of us.

If A, then B. If A happens before D, C happens. If no A, no B, etc.

We enter into contracts all the time. Today, as never before, our lives are lived in an online world. We sign up for a service online. We buy products online. We "agree" to the terms of service without ever reading them.  We sign a document placed before us without reading it.

We bind ourselves to unknown terms. We enter into contracts blindly.

In California, and in other states. If you have signed it, you are deemed to have read it. That means you cannot plead ignorance to the contents of any document you sign. If you have signed it, if you have agreed to its terms by "clicking" a box.  You have read and agree to all the terms therein.

So if the document says we will not pay you until a week from Sunday on a blue moon on the wane, you cannot expect payment until that time.

So do yourself a favor, and take a moment and actually read the document you are getting ready to sign. And if you don't understand something it contains, ask them to explain it. It may take a few moments more, but it will save you a lot of grief later.