A spokesman for a company criticized by Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for allegedly misleading people seeking work at the airport defended the business Tuesday, saying it provides a service for its $35 fee and doesn’t guarantee anyone a job.
“Nobody is saying here we’ll guarantee you a job. Nobody is saying we’re going to get you a job for $35,” said Robert Mareem, who identified himself as a counselor at American Careers LLC of Washington, D.C. “But if you listen to our [phone] message, we’re not saying that. We’re saying we’re going to guide you through the process, we’re going to help you.”
As reported by Channel 2 Action News on Monday, American Careers had placed an advertisement on Craigslist that appears to be a job posting for positions at Hartsfield-Jackson.
People responding to the phone number listed in the ad hear a recording saying, “The airlines at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are currently hiring.”
The recording says entry-level positions – no experience necessary – are available for jobs including flight attendants, baggage handlers and mechanics. The recording says the jobs, with starting pay of $14 to $22 per hour, offer such benefits as health insurance, paid vacations, retirement plans “and free flights for you and your family.”
“We do have a one-time processing fee of $35,” the recording says. An applicant is asked to send information including his or her name, address and telephone number, “and money order or certified check for $35 made payable to American Careers, or $35 cash,” to an address in Washington.
In a prepared statement, Hartsfield-Jackson officials told Channel 2, “As far as we are aware, this is a scam, and job-seekers are urged not to reply to these ‘fake’ job postings when seeking employment at Hartsfield-Jackson.”
“Companies doing business with the airport do not work with employment agencies that charge job candidates for their services,” the airport said.
In a phone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mareem said his company provides a legitimate service in exchange for the $35 fee.
“What we do is really pure and simple,” he said. “There’s a lot of turnover at any airport, particularly Hartsfield-Jackson. What we do is help people for a $35 fee to obtain an appointment at the airport.”
Mareem said a packet of information is sent to clients that contains a list of jobs, requirements, websites, addresses and how to apply, write resumes, interview and other job skills.
Asked if he had contacted Hartsfield-Jackson officials about their statement, Mareem said he had not.
“I do not know where they got their information from,” he said. “Whatever information they’re getting is dictating what they’re saying. I really do not know how to respond to that except more than likely the information they obtained is false.”
When told Monday of American Careers' Craigslist posting, John Sours, administrator of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection, was skeptical.
“Nobody’s going to get you a decent, good paying job with benefits for a one-shot $30 fee. It just doesn’t work like that," Sours told Channel 2. "No legitimate business is going to shop jobs without doing career counseling to make sure you’re fit for that job.”
Airport officials advised those seeking work at the airport to attend a job fair scheduled for April 2, 3 and 4 at the Georgia International Convention Center.
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