In December I saw an ad at Translator's Cafe for telephone interpreters, they said they were looking for people with court interpreter certification. The employer was Network Omni. I did not respond to the ad as I was not certified. I was subsequently contacted by Ms. Marcia Rodriguez who told me about the Ejob, and was I interested?
I was quite interested in working for Network Omni which, it seemed was about second to Language Line in size. I took a proficiency test with their Quality Assurance person over the phone. They told me I passed and offered me my choice of shifts with an hourly rate regardless of how many calls I took.
The Quality Assurance person, Nathalie Brun, also an in-house french interpreter, sent me an orientation package including a FAQ which among other things, clearly stated that I would be paid 30 days after my first invoice was submitted. I was not too happy about that because I would still be working for those 30 days and I would have worked 60 days before seeing any money, also they would always be sitting on 30 days worth of my money for as long as I worked there. I decided to take the job anyway since it "was such a good company".
After having worked for Network Omni for about 45 days, I saw a forum post on Translator's cafe, something about a class action suit against Network Omni for non payment. I then Googled Network Omni and found all those unpaid people on topix Westlake Village. They were contract interpreters just like myself, they had felt proud to be helping those in need as Omni had a 911 contract with the state of California. They were rewarded for their service by not being paid by Network Omni.
At about day 50, I called the Network Omni office to find out when I could expect my first month's invoice to be paid, about 1,600 dollars I was told that the FAQ I was given was out of date! They would not be paying me for another 30 days! No matter that I had bills to pay, too bad. The mistake, if there was one, was theirs yet it seemed they could do as they pleased. I have never seen such arrogant, callous people in my life.
If I were to accept their revised schedule it would mean that I would work 90 days, a quarter of a year, before being paid for the first 30 days. I told Jayson Camarena in invoicing, invoicing seems to run the company, that 60 days was unacceptable. He said that the contract specified 60 days, basically take it or leave it.
I feel that their "bait and switch" scam probably rises to the level of fraudulent misrepresentation especially since they would not acknowledge the mistake as theirs. I resigned giving 5 days notice, it was the end of the second billing period, stating that they had obtained my services through deception since I would never agree to that ridiculous ploy to float a giant loan on the backs of their contract workers.
It is now the end of April and both of my invoices, totaling about $3,300 are now overdue even by Network Omni's reckoning and if I get through to them on the phone, they just tell me it is only a ripoff when you do not get paid at all that they are going to pay me, but when?"When they are good and ready".
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