

“Rails Devs, Can you work for no cash? Very exciting opportunity for you” - piratebroadcast
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cpg/4853881573.html

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DigitalSea
I love how the listing begins with the fact their application is now a paid
application after being free for 12 months (so this means they're making some
money).

 _We are a start-up that just launched our premium, paid application_

Then they go on to say this is a no-cash gig.

 _This is a NO CASH gig!_

Maybe they're not trying to do anything dodgy here, but we already have an
industry fraught with developers being underpaid, pulling incredibly long work
hours while their health suffers and this startup is looking for what amounts
to slave labour by not offering a single dime to any would be Rails developer.
It mentions 15 to 20 hours a week, but who knows if they'll expect more hours
once they find someone (especially if they're good).

If this were a charity of some kind or non-profit working on a good cause,
then I don't see the problem with it. But this appears to be a startup that
has begun making money (how much, who knows) and they're looking for a
developer to work for free, for 6 weeks as well. That's just crazy.

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mtmail
This is [http://get.quickkeyapp.com/](http://get.quickkeyapp.com/) (I replied)
and they raised 330k USD [http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/27/quick-key-the-quiz-
scanning...](http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/27/quick-key-the-quiz-scanning-app-
for-teachers-raises-over-250000/)

~~~
greenyoda
Since it's a U.S. company and apparently not a non-profit, wouldn't paying
$0/hour be in violation of federal minimum wage laws?

A junior developer who does what he's told by the employer (i.e., doesn't have
control over "what will be done and how it will be done"[1]) wouldn't meet the
criteria for an independent contractor, so they'd be legally classified as an
employee.

[1] [http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-
Employ...](http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-
Employed/Independent-Contractor-Defined)

~~~
mtmail
I'd assume the contract will be labelled an internship or training to get
around that.

~~~
greenyoda
In the U.S., interns of for-profit companies are subject to minimum wage laws
unless the job is primarily for the educational benefit of the intern (i.e.,
the company doesn't get any useful labor). It's pretty clear that this company
wants to hire a person who already knows their dev stack to do useful work for
them. So the employee would need to be paid at least minimum wage.

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greenyoda
The page now reads:

"This posting has been flagged for removal."

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mkorfmann
Why not? IMO this could be a huge opportunity for some people, since the
expectations aren't as high as in a paid gig.

~~~
TheCoelacanth
I wouldn't count on it. The people who are getting something for free often
have the most unrealistic expectations.

