I found this listing on a freelance work website:

[kestrel91316]

Can't link directly to the page. This is a US company (FCI Corporation) and they want US workers only (good for them......so far). But they are only offering $1/hour. Last I heard, minimum wage in the US was what, $8 something???

~~~~~~~~~~~

Data Entry Specialist Needed (U.S. Applicants only)

Hourly - Est. Time More than 6 months, Full-time - 30+ hrs/week - Posted 4 hours ago

Job Description

Hello!

FCI Corporation is a large U.S. based translation company looking for several non-translators to assist in various research and computer tasks. The workload is full time and ongoing, meaning if you perform well, you will still be working for us full-time a year from now if you want.

We are looking for people who meet the following requirements.

1.experienced in data entry
2.live in the U.S. and speak fluent English
3.experienced in web research and using Word and Excel
4.can work for a starting rate of $1 an hour (raises and promotions available)

~~~~~~~~~

I have no words.

Here's their website with contact info. I think we all know what to do. The listing for sub-minimum wage work in violation of federal law is on oDesk. http://www.academyoftranslation.com/Language-Translation-Contact.asp

[Buzz Clik]

1. I'll bet the phone is ringing off the hook.

[kestrel91316]

3. Sadly, there are 2 US-based workers who have actually bid on the job.

[Buzz Clik]

4. Wow. You cannot pay for lunch at $1 per hour.

[kestrel91316]

6. It's $40 A WEEK. You can't hardly keep yourself fed at that rate, let alone housed and clothed

and the lights kept on.

[Posteritatis]

19. They might be assuming the rate is a typo, but still, gah. (nt)

[kestrel91316]

2. And lol, they are NOT a large translation company. Crappy little cheap website and all.

THIS is a real translation company: http://www.motionpoint.com/

THEY pay a living wage. I know. A close family member of mine works there, lol.

[kestrel91316]

5. The thing is, they could have left out the part about "US applicants only" and

hired an army of Indians for $1/hr and people would just shrug. But they actually think they can abuse Americans with this pay.

[djean111]

11. They want US applicants only because they need proper English writing.

Not only are a lot of non-English-native-language writers a bit awkward, but writing in vernacular and using slang is more difficult that it seems, I think.
I once spent a fun couple of lunch hours in Tokyo explaining the meanings of a big list of American slang.
The dollar an hour seems strange for the US, laws aside. I have seen jobs on oDesk (a really great place, by the way) that pay very small amounts for blog comments and reviews and such, but I guess those can be banged out pretty quickly, enough to earn some money.

[kestrel91316]

14. I've had a couple of small but legitimate writing gigs just in my first 2 weeks there, and both

clients will be sending more work my way.

And I work for a tad more than $1/hr, lol. My writing is excellent.

[djean111]

16. I think the $1 an hour folks may be a bit different.

Of course, there is that hope extended for raises.
I get offers from there requiring hours of work for $10 (altogether) as training or something - for QA work.
I generally don't respond to anything requiring a Skype camera.
I have to say I have worked for some lovely people through odesk, and always always got paid promptly.

[DearHeart]

7. Gotta be a typo! Must be $10/hr...that's about standard for Data Entry lately.

[kestrel91316]

8. This clown has posted several jobs on the site and hired no one.

I think he actually IS offering $1/hr and is too stupid to figure out no one in the US is that desperate or dimwitted.

[DearHeart]

9. Wow! What an asshat!! That just makes me sick to my stomach!

I truly hope that no one is desperate enough to take that, but unfortunately, I have a feeling that someone will.

[samsingh]

10. could this be a typo?

[Newsjock]

12. Link to job listing

https://www.odesk.com/o/jobs/job/Data-Entry-Specialist-Needed-U-S-Applicant_~014faf27f2d43f0ff0/

Still there, as of now, but looks like it's been "cancelled."

[kestrel91316]

13. That's not the same posting. He has a new one.

I didn't bookmark it, lol, because I am not that desperate. He'll cheat whoever he hires out of their money anyway, I suspect.

[sad-cafe]

15. I hope that is just a mistake.

otherwise No sane person would take that job.

[Ruby the Liberal]

17. Don't you bid for work on odesk.com?

As in they throw out the description and people bid the project (or hourly rate they will accept)? Maybe this company didn't set their listing up right?

[kestrel91316]

18. That is the posting, verbatim. And he has repeatedly posted that same ad since Nov.

He hasn't hired anybody, though. Can't imagine why not.

ETA: People do bid on jobs, yes, but IMO a lot of the hiring is based on how your letter sounds and profile/portfolio look. The jobs I got, I don't think I was the low bidder at all. There are folks who bid $20 on every single job, even when it entails hours and weeks of work.

[kestrel91316]

20. I lean more toward the fixed price jobs anyway. Good writing is not something you can

do hourly - I look more at how many words I need to deliver. Unfortunately they don't pay $1/word like the big boys in print do, lol.

[Ruby the Liberal]

22. Gotcha. Thanks for confirming

I had forgotten that site was out there. I should probably go take a look myself now that my new insurance just informed me that my MRI in December is all part of my 2012 deductible.

[kestrel91316]

29. Elance looks like another decent site, though I haven't

had any jobs through them yet.

[Ruby the Liberal]

32. Will check them too - thanks!

[James48]

21. THe u.s. minimum wage only applies to those

physically working inside the U.S.

There is nothing preventing a corporation from hiring someone in India for $1 an hour to do the work remotely.

[kestrel91316]

23. READ THE OP. The job listing is specifically for US residents.

He could have left that out and hired Indians and no one would care.

[jmowreader]

24. Someone's trying to justify H1Bs

Step 1 in getting an H1B visa application approved is to prove there are no Americans available to do the work. The most common way of doing that is to offer wages so low Americans won't work for them...but this takes it to a new level. I am pretty certain the government will find out these assholes are offering a buck an hour and tell them to try again in six months after they grow up and get serious.

[djean111]

25. I think we have a winner here.

You make perfect sense.

[okaawhatever]

26. ya'll don't recognize a job listing for a paid troll when you see one? nt

[djean111]

27. A paid troll gets paid by the post or comment, not by the hour. n/t

[okaawhatever]

28. hmmm...thanks didn't know that nt

[kestrel91316]

30. They have tons of those on there, too.

But most are just commercial spammers and not political trolls.

[Hekate]

31. Kick and Rec for the NLRB

There are people so desperate for work that they will work for nothing just to get a foot in the door. "See how good I am? See what an eager-beaver I am? Please, please, please hire me for money now that I'm here."

Over the past I-don't-know-how-many years I have read articles advising people to do just that. Also articles about how many "internships" are a low-wage or no-wage scam for recent college grads.

These guys are just nakedly going for the exploit -- no shame, no "internship," nothing but a vague promise that "raises and promotions (are) available."

Go DUers, report them. Make this lousy scam go viral. But don't be shocked when it turns out they actually have an applicant pool.