Q: Our landlord has begun posting the names of tenants who violate the "house rules" on the property's website. For example, people who park illegally or get talked to by management for excessive noise get listed (so do those who pay rent late). He claims it's a way to encourage compliance and it will make the property a safer and cleaner place to live. I think it's an invasion of privacy. Is it legal? --Betsy B.

A: Perhaps your landlord has recently revisited a classic from his childhood, "The Scarlet Letter," and wants to see if websites are as effective as letters sewn onto a dress. Or maybe he's heard about California's new law, which took effect in January 2012, that makes employers who willfully misclassify workers as independent contractors (when they should be classified as employees) put a statement on their company website or in the workplace, for a year, saying that they violated the law (see California Labor Code Sections 226.8 and 2753).  more...