Questions raised about gig workers after convicted felon found working at jewelry store

Watchdog groups are calling into question the prolific use of freelancers and gig workers after a recent investigation found that a man convicted of 10 prior felonies and currently out on bail for an 11th burglary charge was found working at a high-end jewelry store. According to the report, national information technology vendor Spencer Technologies went looking online for workers to install networking and credit card processing equipment for one of its clients That client was high-end jewelry retailer David Yurman. The report states that David Yurman hired Spencer Technologies to completely upgrade its network at all of its stores nationwide. This work included extensive upgrades of equipment that handled customer credit card information. In an apparent effort to cut costs, Spencer Technologies took to the Internet to find workers who would complete the task for its client. Spencer apparently did not perform any background checks on these workers, leading to a man previously charged with 40 felony counts, and convicted on 10 of them to hold a contract to perform work at a Las Vegas store.

According to David Yurman's senior telecommunications manager Christopher Singh, it holds a contract with Spencer Technologies and has been using the company for several years. This is the first instance that it has been made aware of something like this happening.

According to an indictment filed in an Alabama Circuit Court, the worker served jail time in the past year for third-degree burglary and is currently awaiting trial on the felony charge. The information technology industry is known for its use of multiple levels of subcontractors, each taking a smaller payment from the original payment paid by the end customer. In this case, David Yurman hired Spencer Technologies, to complete upgrades of its credit card processing systems, and Spencer Technologies, in turn, found the workers on various Internet websites.Watchdog groups and labor unions have decried the use of gig workers and freelancers for this very reason. 

What's worse, say, watchdogs, is that many of these jobs are scheduled to take place during overnight hours when the jewelry stores are closed. This gives the freelance workers unfettered access to all of the company's credit card systems and high-end jewelry located inside the store.

Both Spencer Technology and David Yurman did not return requests to comment for the story. The investigation into how these workers were hired is still ongoing.

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Spencer is a global IT solution and service company that has provided reliable onsite and customized programs for over 45 years. Our global headquarters in Medway, MA is supported by our regional offices and technicians around the world, strategically positioned to be onsite wherever you need.

This release was published on openPR.