Doing What’s Right
A young friend recently worked for an insurance company that proclaims to be a friend and supporter of union workers (they sell supplemental benefits to union members). However, the company ran an independent agency model and the local agency (I’m assuming with the home office blessing) hired everybody as independent contractors. This included recruiters, receptionists, trainers and others. The exact opposite of what unions are all about.
Now first, this is illegal. HR people and attorneys have told me that when you tell people what to do, when to do it, where to do it and how to do it that those people are employees.
More important, when you proclaim to be a supporter of workers why operate in a way that hurts your workers (people like receptionists don’t understand that they have to pay their own taxes, benefits, etc.)?
It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, when you proclaim your values to the public it helps if you live by those values yourself.
“Nobody can acquire honor by doing what is wrong.” Thomas Jefferson