Would this be legal? Thread poster: Sandra Alboum
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Sandra Alboum 
United States
Local time: 23:45
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
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Hi.
Out of curiosity, this ad made me think:
http://www.proz.com/job/72165
At 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 7 weeks, this works out $3.57/hour. (And I'm sure it would be more hours than this - I didn't count weekends.) Federal minimum wage for non-exempt employees is $5.15. Is it legal for someone to come to the US, work for under minimum wage and pay no taxes on ... See more Hi.
Out of curiosity, this ad made me think:
http://www.proz.com/job/72165
At 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 7 weeks, this works out $3.57/hour. (And I'm sure it would be more hours than this - I didn't count weekends.) Federal minimum wage for non-exempt employees is $5.15. Is it legal for someone to come to the US, work for under minimum wage and pay no taxes on money earned here?
Just curious what everyone's take on this is (other than the fact that the pricing on this is ridiculous).
Sandra ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mihail Mateev
Bulgaria
Local time: 06:45
Member
English to Bulgarian
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| By the moment this job is colosed for non-platinium members... | Feb 24, 2005 |
Sandra Alboum wrote: Hi. Out of curiosity, this ad made me think: http://www.proz.com/job/72165 At 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 7 weeks, this works out $3.57/hour. (And I'm sure it would be more hours than this - I didn't count weekends.) Federal minimum wage for non-exempt employees is $5.15. Is it legal for someone to come to the US, work for under minimum wage and pay no taxes on money earned here? Just curious what everyone's take on this is (other than the fact that the pricing on this is ridiculous). Sandra
The outsourcer has chosen to restrict this job to platinum members until 12:06am Feb 25 GMT
(Current time: 5:52am Feb 24 GMT )
Dear Sandra,
I did not see the job you are speaking about, so I will comment generally.
Your question is: If the federal government says that minimum wage is $5.15, how can one take a job for $3.57/hour.
Free market determines if the price is real or not. If there is a man, who can work for this money in this condition, the price is real. If noone takes the job, the supplier will raise the price, until there a man is found to do it for the price.
That's all.
[Edited at 2005-02-24 10:32]
| | | | | Whether it is legal, I do not know | Feb 24, 2005 |
However, I get the impression that they want someone who is bilingual and of reasonable intelligence to assist a 'student' who does not seem to speak much English. Although it is posted as a job and when you work out the details the hourly rate is low, you should see it more as an 'au pair' job. I can see other problems. They do not mention what the postgraduate course is about (imagine if it is something really obscure or difficult). What about visas and such for the translator? I think I would... See more However, I get the impression that they want someone who is bilingual and of reasonable intelligence to assist a 'student' who does not seem to speak much English. Although it is posted as a job and when you work out the details the hourly rate is low, you should see it more as an 'au pair' job. I can see other problems. They do not mention what the postgraduate course is about (imagine if it is something really obscure or difficult). What about visas and such for the translator? I think I would have approached it differently. I would have contacted the university and asked what (language) support was on offer and whether any local (bilingual) student would be interested in helping out. ▲ Collapse
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Ruxi
German to Romanian
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| Missunderstandings | Feb 24, 2005 |
I read the title of this thread without really knowing what it is about (on the homepage). Then I read the postings carefully.
First of all: only platinum members can even read the containt of the job offers designed only for them and this is an disadvanteg for all the others. You can not bid it's a problem, but not even read what it is about?
Coming back to the subject I do not understand the problem with Misho's posting.
It is not well written and this is why it may caused mi... See more I read the title of this thread without really knowing what it is about (on the homepage). Then I read the postings carefully.
First of all: only platinum members can even read the containt of the job offers designed only for them and this is an disadvanteg for all the others. You can not bid it's a problem, but not even read what it is about?
Coming back to the subject I do not understand the problem with Misho's posting.
It is not well written and this is why it may caused missunderstandings.I did not understand it the way Andrejz did.
I do not know the regulations for different countries for inferior wage limits.Some have one, some not (even in EU).
Generally it is true, one should not be allowed to hire people for jobs which are under the legal limits if such limits exist.It is not fair and not human for any category of people.
Now I do not know if such regulations are for private companies too, or only for the state ones.
As far as I know, but I may be wrong, private companies are free to create their wage limits.
It is not fair and human for them neither, but the market economy allows such things.
Now people are desperate. There are a lot of poor people either borned there, or imigrated (from poor countries), who are happy to work and get some money at all. And this happens more and more in the world's powers (USA,UE etc.).
As someone said here: If there are people willingly and needing such jobs, they will be taken, if not the prices will grow up.
There are three aspects to be considered: legal, human and market economy.And there are unfortunately so different, so far one form the other.
Like for the translators here: Some are offended by some prices, some accept them and are happy.We must never forget there are poor people everywhere, people who want to live and work.
And no one here (I think) intends to offend anybody by postings, but we have to try to understand we are human beings (and no robots) with feelings and many of us with a hard past (or even present) which puts a print on us.Lets try to read and understand correctly a message.
Ruxi ▲ Collapse
| | | | Yolanda Broad
United States
Local time: 23:45
Member (2000)
French to English
+ ...
MODERATOR | Some "jobs" are requests for volunteer help | Feb 24, 2005 |
I'm the moderator who vetted that job posting, after reading it and mulling it over.
The person who posted it appeared to have doubts herself about making that request, since she urged anyone considering it to try to negotiate a higher lump sum payment. She also pointed out that it was going to be a pretty hard job to do and would require a lot of work: it involves an almost total dedication of someone's time and talents for a period of 7 weeks. It was partly on the basis of her... See more I'm the moderator who vetted that job posting, after reading it and mulling it over.
The person who posted it appeared to have doubts herself about making that request, since she urged anyone considering it to try to negotiate a higher lump sum payment. She also pointed out that it was going to be a pretty hard job to do and would require a lot of work: it involves an almost total dedication of someone's time and talents for a period of 7 weeks. It was partly on the basis of her caveats and apologies that I went ahead and vetted that job: she was inviting negotiation and leaving the door open to adjustments.
Not all "jobs" that are posted on ProZ.com are paying ones. In addition to postings by recognized non profit organizations, we occasionally get other requests for help, in exchange for very little or no payment, usually from students, but sometimes, also, from families who need help with medical records, and even, occasionally, someone who has come across some old family records they are curious about. Obviously, the worthiness of any such request has to be weighed against the investment in terms of time and lost income that a translator would have to sacrifice.
My own puzzlement has to do with the fact that an American University accepted someone into a doctoral program of theirs without ascertaining that the candidate had an adequate mastery of English. Frankly, all of the universities I've ever been associated with or dealt with do have very strict requirements for language proficiency, so I'm amazed that there is one out there that would accept anyone who can't even handle phone calls and basic paperwork in English (both part of the job description in that job posting), let alone handle the professional literature in English. ▲ Collapse
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Sandra Alboum
United States
Local time: 23:45
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Yes, I agree! | Feb 24, 2005 |
Hi Yolanda,
Yes, you know, you've got a point there. If this person is unable to do his own research for the doctoral program, what university did he get into? (The University of Phoenix, perhaps.) It would appear that the translator is going to help the student make sense of materials in the student's own specialty. I find that thoroughly odd.
Best,
Sandra
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