Workers responding to Internet ads cheated out of wages

Posted: Monday, November 3, 2008
At least two dozen Idaho workers who responded to Internet job advertisements from companies distributing promotional material door to door have been cheated out of wages over the past six months.

The Idaho Department of Labor said in a release that the department's Wage and Hour Section received 24 claims for unpaid wages from people who were hired by five different but unnamed companies to either put the material on door knobs and handles or to supervise those who did. The claims typically averaged $300 to $400 for a week or two of part-time work.

One of the Internet ads posted on craigslist.com claims to be from an unnamed "national advertising company" and tells people to e-mail their names and phone numbers to a specific address by a certain date. It asks that no one call, and it emphasizes that the work is temporary.

The Idaho people who filed claims said they followed the instructions, did the work but were never paid. The telephone number listed in the ad was disconnected when they tried to use it, and the e-mail address they applied to no longer worked. The Web site listed in that ad, www.faaevents.com, cannot be accessed because it is a secure site.

"In a difficult economy like the one we're in now where jobs are tough to come by, the prospects of any kind of employment have an appeal," Wage and Hour Supervisor Craig Soelberg said in the release. "But when the employer doesn't ask you to fill out even the most basic forms like income tax withholding, you need to be leery. Workers need to check these kinds of ads out before they commit."

Claims by any worker who believes he has not been fully paid for the work performed can be filed at any of the 25 local Labor Department offices or at the central office in downtown Boise.