Wow. That's a pretty one-sided and extremely selfish deal. (On the other hand, $8.50 per hour is more than I often got paid.)
Of course, the staff then probably does not report any wages for income tax.
All of which is illegal.
$8.50 was illustrative but yes, it was a crap deal. I had a couple friends working for them at the time and told them as much.
You can talk people into all sorts of silliness when you're in the business of selling a dream.
