"A Must Watch": New Report on the Job Wage Bait and Switch Tactic
"It took months to get my promised pay rate"
A video report I worked on with More Perfect Union on the fake pay rate scam was released on Thursday.
In the video—which Jobs with Justice called “a must watch”—victims of the bait and switch tactic recount their stories, and I provide context based on my reporting.
Social media users have been sounding off on the scam since the video dropped.
“Staples was horrible to me,” one worker tweeted. “It took months to get my promised pay rate after ‘training’ finished, and they scheduled me for 36 hours to avoid me being full time and get benefits, though I'd frequently work 40+.”
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Weasel tactics
I first detailed the bait and switch in my newsletter report from November:
When companies advertise for positions with higher wages than they’re willing to pay, it’s often a transparent attempt to lowball job-seekers until the prospective employer lands on someone desperate enough to take the offer.
[…]
Corporations will lure in staff with false promises—sometimes the deception only becomes clear in the first paycheck. Lance, a 27-year-old in Maryland, answered a job listing at Vetco, the pet welfare clinic in Petco. The company offered $15 an hour in its listing, but the salary was really $11 an hour to start, with two raises in the first six months.
Unsurprisingly, this abusive and fraudulent behavior is continuing. Companies still present prospective employees with the promise of a high wage, then pull the rug out from under them at the point of hiring.
One weaselly tactic used by employers like McDonalds is the use of the term “up to” when promising high wages—allowing them to technically not lie when they offer you less. You can see the language at this Kentucky store:
Bruegger’s Bagels offers to match your wage plus $3 an hour—until you look at the fine print and see that just means your wage plus average credit card tips.
And on and on. Until this fraudulent behavior is reined in or punished, workers will continue to be mistreated, lied to, and manipulated.
As one Twitter user put it, the bait and switch scam is part of a larger, depressing issue.
“These companies are dangling pennies and cents in front of folks to work exhausting and thankless jobs, then taking the pennies and cents away from them, all the while impoverishing our citizenry,” the user said.
The “wellness” industry
Also check out my interview with fitness historian Antonio Valladares on Novak Djokovic, vaccines, and the history of the “wellness” industry.
Here’s a clip:
Listen to the whole episode at the link—and sign up for Callin to catch these shows live!
That’s all for now, I’m signing off for the weekend.
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