Thank you for your advice, this is seriously helpful. Re: Business, this was only a short-term contract that started after a startup I work for was acquired. I'm not a contractor or a businessman, and I'm already back working as a permanent employee somewhere else now. That my bank is in California while I am in Massachusetts makes raising hell a bit more difficult. Why it is an "emergency" has more to do with family law matters and less so that I can't put food on my table.
Thanks again.