This letter is written as a formal complaint against Cydcor constituent Empire Marketing in Conshohocken Pennsylvania, and it's owner, Liz Harmon. I was hired by Jason Prince, Assistant manager of the company on April 24, and subsequently promoted to Leader two and a half weeks later. I quit Empire Marketing May 23rd over the phone on account of lack of pay as well as suffering a work-related injury from working the 12 hour days allegedly required by the position. The campaign worked on was for First Horizon
Overall, I have found that this company hires individuals under false pretenses. When hired, there was no mention in any paperwork signed, nor verbally, that any application that was submitted could be rejected; and pay could be withheld. Nor was I told that 12-hour days were the requirement for the position. Even before the first interview when I responded to an ad in the newspaper, I was informed that the hours were 9-5. What was not mentioned was the fact that the hours in the field were 9-5but including early morning office meetings, and the end of the day check-in, the hours turned out to be 12. The time to be in the office in the morning is 7:15 am; some days even earlier, and seldom does one get to leave the office before 7pm.By speaking with other offices, I have found this not to be the norm with most of your offices.
I have done my calculations and have found that for the month I was employed at Empire, I have submitted approximately 1,800.00 worth of applications and bonuses promised yet have received little over 900.00 from Liz Harmon compensating my efforts. Additionally, a 400.00 advance I requested to pay my rent in the beginning of my employment was taken out in a lump sum, as opposed to taken out gradually over a series of checks. Simple computation shows that for the hours worked, the amount of pay per hour was significantly less than federal minimum wage. I have all the paperwork given to me from the beginning of my employment to prove this deception, and I recall the names and locations of each business owner who willingly signed a First Horizon contract by my pitch.
The turnover rate for Empire Marketing is staggering; less than five people in the office have been employed more than 3 months in an office of over forty individuals. It is my belief that the frantic pace of training new hires is to cover-up for the lack of veteran individuals in the firm. My last week with Empire was hectic; most Leaders trainer two, sometimes three new hires at a time. Half of those same new hires quit within the first week due to the unprofessional environment.in no company have I found training the new to be priority over the work and relative comfort level of employees already established in the firm.
I am still in contact with many former employees, and all of them have complained about Liz's behavior in general towards her non-new and non-management staff. We are all aware of the fact that she once owned an office in California, which subsequently failed. Most of the employees of Empire Marketing are fresh out of college, and still living with their parents; the repercussions of not being paid are much less than for one such as myself who lives as a functioning, rent-paying adult. I can only presume the assumption that such a young staff base would be loathe to take action against the company due to inexperience and uncertainty of federal and state legislature. The amount of understanding of my situation by Liz has been negligible; leaving the assistant managers the only one's with any concern in the welfare of Empire's employees.
I am hoping that by this letter, I can not only have my own situation rectified, but also bring to your attention the poor management of Empire Marketing. I have contacted this company over 36 weeks ago, and have received no response or acknowledgement regarding this issue. Nor have I received any response from the Cydcor head office.
I know of several former employees considering filing lawsuits of their own against Liz and Empire Marketing, and if you wish, they gave me permission to disclose their contact information by asking.
I find the company policies of Empire Marketing at least unethical if not deceptive, and sincerely hope measures will be taken to expose their activities.
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