I worked for three weeks for a company called ooh la la in ft myers fl I was originally hired as aretail clerk for $9 an hour but than was asked if I could do a side project at the rate of $20 an hour. I was told I could work from home until the project wa completed and then I would work in the store.
I basically went over thier whole marketing strategy, website, seo, e-mail marketing, blog , discussed article writing basically i advised them on my project plan in detail on how they could save thousands of dollars annually, they stole my designs and ideas and hired someone else behind my back without paying me a dime. I turned down other jobs because i was under the assumption I was an employee on the clock these were significantly higher paying jobs as well, they made promises to me that i would be thier permament head of marketing department and filled my head with a bunch of fantasies that they never were going to go through with. They misled me and both owners played me like a fiddle one would tell me one thing while the other would act like they didnt know what was going on. They pretened like they didnt know about design and the web, in fact thier actually pretty saavy, they played me so good. I am furious and craigs list is filled with nothing but cheap scam artist trying to put one over on you.
I want to know what else I can legally do to these people as this is personal as they delibertly planned this out from day one and even after I had told them of my financial situation. I have a BA in information technology 11 years of web development experience a degree in graphic design and as a paralegal I was also trained on the job as a marketing professional, Seo expert and public relations. I am exstremely profecient in my field uo to date with all the latest trends.
I have been out of work not because I am not good at my job but because so many business are outsourcing thier It Projects oversees. I was applying for the retail job because thier are no web positions open in Bonita where i live. I was decieved and raped for my skills and these people were preying upon desperate workers. Thats why thier add for hire read as this " need a retail clerk with fashion since knowledge of twitter and facebook a plus’ why would a retail clerk need to know twitter or facebook?
that was so they could narrow down job canidates to web professionals such as myself and exploit them for there services. If i have typos its because I dont care just reply with advice thanks.
I beleive it is the same as hiring a plumber for retail and this getting him to divulge how he gets crap out of the toilet and this discard him without paying him an easy way for them to get free services without paying.
I reported them to the IRS, BBB, Rip off report, labor and wage division and the attorney generals office as well as osha and consumer and business protection advocate group.
I also sent them a bill and a disclosure of services that if they use my project plan any of my designs or ideas that I will take them to small claims court. If they dont pay me for the weeks of service in the sum of 5,000 im sending them to a collection agency.
Yes however I was hired as a hourly employee at first and tricked into developing a website – i never agreed to work as a sub contractor I have never been in a situation where I was hired as an employee but than later converted into marketing driector slash web developer as a hired employee, Freelance I usually ask for all the money upfront because clients want the world but never want to pay. i was caught off guard because i was hired a retail clerk not as a web designer I was never paid for either postition.
If they did not pay you for any of the web development work you did, then you are entitled to sue if they use your project plan or designs.
Alternatively you can claim for the hours you put in through small claims court but of course you need to submit your itemised time sheets to them first and give them an opportunity to pay.
But you cannot have it both ways. If they pay, the designs belong to them, if they don’t pay, the designs are yours. Be clear about what you are asking for or you will get nowhere.
You say you have years of IT experience and paralegal training, I am surprised that you do not know something so obvious.
