[staninalone]

My finance lost his job in march and has been desperately searching for an IT job since. His decision to go on unemployment was based of the fact that we have a son and a house. After three months of searching and getting nothing we receive a phone call telling him about a job that is very interested in him, they set up the interview in the Saginaw office and tell him that they will most likely have him start on the day after the interview. Now keep in mind that we think this is an IT postion, with a pay scale around what he was making before. So a full tank of gas and a 45 minute drive later he finds out that Michigan Talent bank has sold his resume and information to some company ( Universal Gas & Electric) who proceeds to tell him that the job is door to door cold sales calls based on commison of 8$ a sale. They then tell him that if he doesn't take this job that he will be reported to unemployment and his benefits will be cancelled....... Is this legal? How can anyone with a house and a car and a child pay their bills off of that kind of money? Any advice!?

[The_Anonymous_American]

No, it is not legal. Who ever told you that is blowing smoke. Ignore them.

[us2indaup]

They're just trying to yank your chain, don't believe for a moment that they can cut off your unemployment - just remember when you call M.A.R.V.I.N to say that you have not turned down a job offer. This isn't lying, because there is no way this was a legit job offer.
I've had my resume on Michigan Talent Bank for years and, while they haven't helped me find a job, I believe it is because the jobs don't exist. I've never had reason to suspect them of selling my information.
Good Luck!

[bubbagirl]

BUT...

I believe you are only questioned if the job offer was within a "reasonable" amount to what you were making. That said, they cannot expect a $100K Mba professional to be forced into accepting minimum wage just because it is a job offer. I also think there are guidelines about job offers within a similar field of expertise.

There has got to be someone to report that company to for abuse of information and harrassment. I almost think it would be worth contacting a news crew to expose this kind of abuse ... put out a warning to other people thinking they will get "forced" into working a job that is not ligit. It sounds like a contracting company, meaning they are not actually "hiring" their sales crew (because they would have to pay min wage, and it sounds like they pay per sales agreement), therefore, they are asking your husband to be an independent contractor (ie, go into business himself), and at that point it is no longer considered a job offer. My husband is a former indpendent contractor for Comcast (worked with the contracting company at will and made good $, but would never work for a utility contractor), so we know the ropes of that.

[us2indaup]

M.A.R.V.I.N. questions as to whether you've quit or turned down a job since your last call-in, but if they want to make an issue of it, you can quite truthfully claim that you believed it to be a scam job offer and wouldn't consider working for a questionable company like that. It is unlikely Michigan Works would ever get wind of the "offer" anyway because it seems that this company is using their name for fraud - something they would not want the state to find out about!

The suggestion about alerting the media was a good idea, because this company is undoubtably bullying others the way they tried to bully your finace.
Good Luck!
P.S. You might want to try to figure out where this questionable company got your info and phone number. I can't believe it was through MichiganWorks (though stranger things have happened).

[Meg Lesher]

Sad to say, but Michigan Works isn't very helpful to anyone looking for a job through them. This was not just my experience, but that of a lot of others I've talked to who went through them trying to find employment.

[M TYPE X]

If the state agencies were effective, Michigan wouldn't be in the mess that it is in.

[us2indaup]

Originally Posted by Meg Lesher

Sad to say, but Michigan Works isn't very helpful to anyone looking for a job through them. This was not just my experience, but that of a lot of others I've talked to who went through them trying to find employment.

True, Michigan Works isn't very effective, but in all honesty they haven't much to work with. In my opinion as a long-time job hunter, they're as effective as Monster or YahooJobs or any of the internet job sites. My complaint about all of them is that they're geared toward white collar, degreed, or professional positions. We blue collar workers are the backbone of America, where can we go to seek jobs?

[Meg Lesher]

A decent website for locating jobs in all kinds of categories in all states is Indeed.com... it's a search engine that has a lot of listings. I'd suggest looking on it to find work /job openings.

[D_J]

First, Michigan Talent Bank doesn't sell your information. I do use it to help me recruit for my office although it usually doesn't turn out too well. As employers we can sign on with MTB and search resume's on there and then contact the individual regarding possible employment. This is what is on the refusal to work form from MTB:

Refusal of Work
Employers: The following form may be completed and submitted to report if an individual, with whom you made contact with as a result of finding their resume in the Michigan Talent Bank, or who has contacted you in regards to a job order placed in the Michigan Talent Bank, refused to apply for work, accept work or report to work.
To be denied benefits for refusing work, the job offer to a claimant must be for suitable work and be specific in terms of hours, wages, fringe benefits, conditions and duties of the job. The job offer must also be for work that is currently available.

The information you provide will be transmitted to the Unemployment Agency for appropriate action.

Note: In order to identify the UA claimant, the Unemployment Agency requests that you provide either the Social Security Number or Most Recent Employer.

I believe it is pretty crappy for that company to do that to you guys though. I believe what Bubbagirl stated is true too. I hope this help you somewhat. I don't see how they could expect you guys to even survive off of what they were offering.