Florida — A California-based company is using the lack of legislation in Florida to prey on potential employees with help wanted listings on indeed.com.
The company, Tetra Tech, located at 3475 East Foothill Boulevard Pasadena, California posted a job listing on Indeed titled “Debris Monitor” following Hurrcane’s Helene and Milton.
The job was for any county impacted by the storms.
In part, the job description reads, “Tetra Tech, Inc. specializes in recovering communities after being significantly impacted by disasters or weather events. We are currently hiring for Debris Monitors to help monitor debris removal.”
Additionally, the company promises $1,300 per week plus overtime.
The main listing, as seen in the below screenshot, shows “from $1,300” per week.
After applying, candidates receive an email that reads as follows:
Jessica Mazurek
•
Greetings!
Thank you for your interest in working with Tetra Tech as a Debris Monitor in Sarasota County, FL.
Please proceed with the next steps in our hiring process by formally applying with us using the link below. If you have already applied on our Careers page, please disregard this message.
https://tetratech.referrals.selectminds.com/surge2/jobs/debris-monitor-sarasota-county-45227
Once you have applied, a member of our team will be in touch on the next steps in our hiring process.
We appreciate your patience as we are responding to a number of applications at this time. Stay safe and we look forward to speaking with you soon!
Tetra Tech Inc.
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After clicking on the link and applying for the job the candidate receives a second email, which reads as follows:
Jessica Mazurek
•
Greetings!
We will be conducting a hiring event TOMORROW IN PERSON and would love for you to join us to be hired and scheduled for our training classes right away.
We will be hiring for Debris Monitor positions located in Manatee and Sarasota County areas.
Earn up to $1300 weekly!
This hiring event will take place from 10:00-am to 3:00pm TOMORROW, Saturday, October 19th, 2024. Please keep in mind we have limited openings left. This will be our ONLY hiring event. It is first come first serve so we encourage you to come as early as possible.
Located at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota
Address: 1000 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota, FL 34238
When you walk in ask for the Tetra Tech Conference room, and they will guide you to us.
This event ends at 3:00pm and we will not be taking anymore walk-ins after 3:00pm so get here prior.
Share with your family and friends who are interested in attending this hiring event!
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On October 19, hundreds of applicants walked into the Hyatt Regency in Sarasota in hopes of landing a job with a livable salary. Some of the applicants drove 2.5 hours for the interview.
After waiting more than an hour in line, candidates learned that the initial job listing was one hundred percent misleading.
When called into the interviewing room, Tetra Tech interviewers dropped the bomb and informed candidates that the job actually pays $13.00 per hour with mandatory overtime.
Candidates must use their own vehicle to follow debris removal trucks from location to location and there is no mileage reimbursement or allowance for wear and tear on a personal vehicle.
A candidate would need to work 70-plus hours a week to achieve the advertised salary, No exceptions. Candidates are told that if they do not adhere to the terms after being hired they “would be cut.”
In California, it is illegal to post a job on Indeed with a misleading salary.
Florida does not currently have legislation in place that would protect applicants from being misled, and a reasonable person could conclude that Tetra Tech certainly knows this.
A second company, True North Emergency Management, based out of Texas, posted a similar job listing for a “debris monitor.”
In addition to offering a low wage with massive hours, True North Emergency Management took it a step further and stated, “Successful candidates will be provided FREE unpaid training and will work as part of a team accurately monitoring and documenting the debris collection and removal activities.”
It is illegal to withhold earnings for training and meetings in Florida.
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Candidates say that until Florida has the necessary legislation in place, job applicants will continue to face this type of misleading tactic which preys on those who are desperate for a job.
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