For wealthy executives and society's bottom feeders (yes, there is some overlap there) masssive layoffs present a wonderful opportunity. And what better target audience than the ranks of desperate and insecure unemployed? They're practically begging to be exploited--after all, they were dumb enough to lose their jobs, exhaust their trust funds, and improperly deployed their golden parachutes.
I'm on week seven of unemployment, a former independent contractor (i.e., ineligible for unemployment checks) who refused to accept a 50% pay cut. We're doing OK (for now) but I'm appalled at the people out there who are exploiting the masses of newly unemployed. No one is doing anything particularly illegal, but the problems I see are a result of our societal decision that it's OK to perform an immoral act in the name of profits and getting a leg up on the competition.
This is the sort of thing going on in the job market right now--these are my categories, feel free to add your own in the comments. I've changed some of the subjects and names slightly, because I doubt I could find an unemployed lawyer willing to do his first case on spec for a chance to become my paid family attorney.
- Liars. Title of the classified ad: "Widget Watchers Wanted. $16.95/hour." Inside the ad, we see that it's not really PAYING $16.95/hour. The salary is broken down into a wage at $8.25 an hour, and "benefits" which total $8.70 an hour. Fairly egregious in and of itself, but when you read further, you find that those $8.25 worth of benefits include a mandatory uniform allowance, "discounts" at the company cafeteria, and reduced rates at local fitness centers, as well as a matching 401(k) contribution. Who, making $8.25 an hour, is buying lunch from the cafeteria, belongs to a health club, and contributing to their 401(k)?
- Spammers, Part 1: "Part Time Bartenders Needed. No Experience Necessary. Multiple Openings" OK, this might be a good way to build a bridge between full time jobs. I send in a well crafted cover letter, tweak my resume to reflect appropriate experience, and receive an auto-generated response directing me to apply directly online. Not wanting to have wasted the previous effort, I follow the link to what appears to be a legitimate job application. Fill in your personal contact info, phone number, best time to call, etc. Then the questions start getting a little odd: "Do you feel you have adequate life insurance coverage?" and "Have you ever felt you needed higher education to get a job you really wanted?" and "Please list the names and phone numbers of five references, their titles and education levels." It turns out the ad was placed by a marketing firm located 3500 miles away in Florida. Maybe they're branching out and opening a bar for people with adequate life insurance and educational inferiority complexes here in the Northwest.
- Trollers. I've had one job offer taken off the table after the market collapse, which is understandable. What's less excusable is their willingness to bet that I won't find anything else until the situation stabilizes. I receive calls from three different companies on a weekly basis asking if I've received any other offers yet. They're all holding out as long as possible to bring me on board. (My work is somewhat seasonal, and this is off season.) In better times, all three of these companies would have hired me as soon as I came on the market.
- Exploiters. From an ad: "Must have 7 years experience in feline engineering with a multinational company based in the local market. MBA also required. Applicant will be 1099 contractor and willing to work 6 days per week, up to 12 hours per day. Position pays $28k-$32k annually." Nuff said.
- Internships. "Degree required, plus 3-5 years work experience. Previous leadership experience also required. Position is unpaid for six months, possibly turning into a paid position later. School credit is also available."
- Milkers. I doubt it's legal, but I'm doing a part time editing job which requires a "Processing Fee" to collect my pay. I also receive weekly solicitations from this company to buy their employee exclusive branded goods.
- Spammers, Part Two. If you've posted your name on any job site anywhere and included an email, be prepared for a deluge of malicious emails with titles like "Managers Wanted," "Interview Request," and "Seeking Experienced $Title$."
- Thieves. There are stories going around, and I can vouch for it from personal experience, of companies hiring "Independent Contractors" with no intention of ever paying contracts in full. It works like this--you're contracted to run a fairly difficult project. Your first paychecks are fine and on time. As the project progresses, checks start coming a little late or a little short, accompanied by excuses. After stringing you along for another month or so (as long as you're willing to fall for it), the checks stop altogether. You're not an employee, so your state labor board won't help. If you try to sue, they bring out a team of aggressive "lawyers" who call and threaten to file piles of paperwork, threaten to move the trial to a faraway jurisdiction where the company is HQ'ed, and anything they can to make sure it's not worth your time to sue.
As long as there are desperate unemployed people, these bottom feeders will exist. Their needs are served by a media which focuses on sensational economic stories about massive layoffs and coming depressions. There's a level of quiet panic in the unemployed community right now, and they're willing to do anything to remove themselves from that desperate situation. It's helpful to make these scams public, to shrink the "victim pool." It's a buyer's market for labor right now, and I believe such markets are necessary and useful on a cyclical basis. But abandoning human decency to make a buck is wrong, no matter what the conditions.