Thrillhouse
Back from the dead
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2002
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Then check this out:
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/67973.htm
February 2, 2003 --
When Jessica Stoneburner answered an ad seeking management trainees for a Fortune 500 company after graduating from SUNY Brockport, little did she suspect she'd be scrubbing toilets at the crack of dawn five days a week.
When Valerie Eubanks answered a similar ad, after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she didn't expect she'd have to gobble like a turkey upon signing up new customers.
But that's exactly what happened to these and other staffers at sales company Rhino Wireless, some of whom claim they labored up to 100 hours a week for as little as $150.
Now former employees have filed a class-action suit against the Long Island company and its chief, Darren Matloff, 33, claiming fraud and breach of contract within an environment "rife with sexual and physical abuse and . . . psychological cruelty and exploitation."
Filed in December in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York, the suit is seeking back wages ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 each.
Operating on Long Island in various incarnations since 1994, Rhino Wireless sells AT&T and VoiceStream cell-phone plans and products such as knife sets and calculators.
Door-to-door salespeople are recruited through ads in local newspapers and on Web sites like HotJobs.com, according to court papers.
The former employees say Matloff used excessive tactics to control his staff.
Stoneburner - who quit in April 2002 - told The Post that new employees were told to start work as soon as possible, even if it meant leaving their current jobs without giving notice.
In order to be promoted to manager, and earn a salary of $24,000 to $30,000 a year, former employees said they had to have five new trainees working under them - but if their new trainees didn't make at least $40 a day in sales, they had to pay them $40 out of pocket.
"I made $14,000 in 2001 for working 80 hours a week, but spent about $20,000 in order to get the job done," said ex-employee Cary Bruce, 25, who worked at the company for 21/2 years and quit in March 2002.
But losing money is not the only reason why employees are complaining.
In one office exercise, called "Hump Day," to boost enthusiasm, trainees had to simulate sex with an imagined celebrity in front of their co-workers. During Thanksgiving season, trainees were required to gobble like a turkey in front of new customers, the former employees said.
Up through at least 2002, trainees who racked up a certain amount in sales would have to run into the office yelling, "Ho! Ho! Hoooo!" then ring a gong, former employees said.
The employees' attorney, Karl Stoecker, said the suit could soon grow to include thousands who've done time with various affiliates of Rhino's former parent company, DS-MAX.
Matloff did not return calls, although his attorney, Alan Peal, told The Post, "We don't believe there's any merit to the claims, since the plaintiffs were independent contractors and signed papers to that effect."
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/67973.htm
February 2, 2003 --
When Jessica Stoneburner answered an ad seeking management trainees for a Fortune 500 company after graduating from SUNY Brockport, little did she suspect she'd be scrubbing toilets at the crack of dawn five days a week.
When Valerie Eubanks answered a similar ad, after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she didn't expect she'd have to gobble like a turkey upon signing up new customers.
But that's exactly what happened to these and other staffers at sales company Rhino Wireless, some of whom claim they labored up to 100 hours a week for as little as $150.
Now former employees have filed a class-action suit against the Long Island company and its chief, Darren Matloff, 33, claiming fraud and breach of contract within an environment "rife with sexual and physical abuse and . . . psychological cruelty and exploitation."
Filed in December in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York, the suit is seeking back wages ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 each.
Operating on Long Island in various incarnations since 1994, Rhino Wireless sells AT&T and VoiceStream cell-phone plans and products such as knife sets and calculators.
Door-to-door salespeople are recruited through ads in local newspapers and on Web sites like HotJobs.com, according to court papers.
The former employees say Matloff used excessive tactics to control his staff.
Stoneburner - who quit in April 2002 - told The Post that new employees were told to start work as soon as possible, even if it meant leaving their current jobs without giving notice.
In order to be promoted to manager, and earn a salary of $24,000 to $30,000 a year, former employees said they had to have five new trainees working under them - but if their new trainees didn't make at least $40 a day in sales, they had to pay them $40 out of pocket.
"I made $14,000 in 2001 for working 80 hours a week, but spent about $20,000 in order to get the job done," said ex-employee Cary Bruce, 25, who worked at the company for 21/2 years and quit in March 2002.
But losing money is not the only reason why employees are complaining.
In one office exercise, called "Hump Day," to boost enthusiasm, trainees had to simulate sex with an imagined celebrity in front of their co-workers. During Thanksgiving season, trainees were required to gobble like a turkey in front of new customers, the former employees said.
Up through at least 2002, trainees who racked up a certain amount in sales would have to run into the office yelling, "Ho! Ho! Hoooo!" then ring a gong, former employees said.
The employees' attorney, Karl Stoecker, said the suit could soon grow to include thousands who've done time with various affiliates of Rhino's former parent company, DS-MAX.
Matloff did not return calls, although his attorney, Alan Peal, told The Post, "We don't believe there's any merit to the claims, since the plaintiffs were independent contractors and signed papers to that effect."
