Managing Payment Risks: Is There a 'Bad Employer' List for Unpaid Contracts?

Overview of the Lack of Centralized Payment Tracking

There is currently no single, universally recognized website or database that lists all employers who fail to fulfill payment contracts. While users on Hacker News discuss the desire for such a tool, they note that most current alternatives are fragmented across review sites, social media, and legal records.

Alternative Methods for Verifying Employer Reliability

Because a centralized list does not exist, professionals must rely on a combination of informal and formal verification methods to avoid non-payment:

Informal Review Sites and Social Media

• Glassdoor: While some users suggest Glassdoor as a resource, others note that corporate takeovers of company pages can make these reviews less reliable.
• Trustpilot: Some contractors use Trustpilot to find warnings about unpaid freelance invoices and poor business ethics.
• Social Media: Scanning social media platforms is often the most current way to find warnings about specific companies.
• Ghostjobs.io: This site is mentioned as a resource for job offer reviews.

Formal and Legal Records

• Country Recorder: This service provides lists of judgments against individuals and entities found to be in breach of contract.
• Dun & Bradstreet (D&B): Mentioned as a potential tool for business credit and reliability checks, though its cost and accessibility are noted as variables.

Legal Protections and Reporting Mechanisms

When payment disputes occur, the primary recommended course of action is to engage with government labor boards. In the United States, the Department of Labor (DOL) is a primary point of contact for reporting non-payment of wages.

"If a company is not paying people contact the labor board in their state/province and report them."

Strategies for Mitigating Payment Risk

To prevent non-payment, experienced contractors suggest implementing strict payment terms and delivery milestones:

Control of Deliverables

• Source Material Retention: Contractors are advised to never transfer final source materials until the full bill has been paid.

Payment Scheduling

• Upfront Payments: If a client insists on the contractor work within the client's own version control system, the contractor should insist on biweekly payments submitted in advance.

Challenges in Creating a 'Bad Employer' List

Those who discuss the possibility of creating such a list, while acknowledging the need, highlight several significant hurdles:

• Verification: A major challenge is the validation of claims to prevent abuse and ensure the accuracy of the reports.
• Legal Risk: Creating a public list of companies that do not pay, without rigorous verification, opens the site operator to defamation lawsuits from the same unethical companies being listed.
• Legal Action: Unethical companies may use lawsuits to put such a private site out of business.