> employment contract

I’m in the US. Ain’t got no contract for shit because companies don’t want to be committed to a deal with workers. The closest I’ve gotten to a contract is “don’t slander us and you can have this severance”

> I’m in the US. Ain’t got no contract for shit because companies don’t want to be committed to a deal with workers.

Your offer letter usually functions as an employment contract. The thing that spells out your start on a specific date, and we will pay you some amount in some given manner.

It really depends on your local labor laws, which vay from state to state.

Employers in yhe US love contracts. They say things like "all your ideas are ours even if you work on them off ours" and "you can't work anywhere else, after us unless its in retail or food service, because we don't want to compete". That holds up in the states faangs are moving to, to reduce COL.

And my state ignores that and restricts those covenants to default settings or tosses them if the companies go too, far. Also lol at the faangs moving to. They are expanding not moving.

They didn’t leave California, mass, or New York which have major provisions protecting workers, and they chose to build in those locations before you saw them seeking out smaller cities and states

well yeah, you don't put your headquarters or leadership roles in Rwanda or Texas, you start with tech support, and slowly migrate anyone who knows what an integral is to the low COL areas. I apologize to Rwanda for the comparison.

I don’t know what point you are trying to make

Just being generically cynical. Don't mind me. There are decent places left to live and work. Now that outsourcing has moved from impoverished nations on the other side of the globe with poor human rights records to nearby states with poor human rights records it is just a bit sad, thats all.

Ah yes, on that point I can definitely agree with you

and what about independent contractors? I have been a technology contractor since the 1970's and I have never had a contract with any of my customers.

You verbally agreed on contract pay rate, payment frequency, schedule, assignment of works, how sensitive information will be handled, whether or not you can subcontract a portion of the work, who provides materials and work accommodations, and a bunch of other important details?

All without a written agreement? I'm surprised you could get people to work with you.