Wikipedia:Paid editor's bill of rights

Paid editing has always been a very controversial issue on Wikipedia. The purpose of this essay is not to address whether it should be permitted or not, but to lay out a Paid editor's bill of rights which those engaging in it, if permitted to do so, should enjoy. These rights may be incorporated into any agreement under which Wikipedia editors are compensated (by referencing the URL of a fixed history version of the article from a specific date when changes are ratified by broad consensus, which, if ratified, will be posted prominently herein and assigned a version number).

As of September 2020 there is no consensus on whether paid editors may or may not edit on Wikipedia. Some editors believe that any paid editing automatically violates our no advertising and neutral point of view policies. Others believe that since paid editing has not be banned per se that it is allowed.

There is a consensus, incorporated into Wikipedia's terms of use and the paid editing policy that if an editor is paid to edit, they must declare their employer, client, and other affiliations relevant to their paid editing.

If this essay is made into policy, companies not agreeing to these terms should be subject to sanctions, which might include banning of their editors, blocking of their IP addresses, or public notice of their failure to comply with Wikipedia ethics. Because online work is very frequently the target of scams, it should be difficult for those companies failing to comply to recruit a workforce, as these people would have little promise of being paid, and likewise difficult to recruit customers, who have no desire for association with underhanded enterprises. The present draft is meant as a starting point for discussion.

Specific employment rights

All paid editors shall have the right to:

• Comply with any applicable law, and any Wikipedia policy or guideline, without facing dismissal, loss of compensation, or negative recommendation to future employers.
• Communicate openly with the Wikipedia community and others about the paid editing assignment. Non-disclosure agreements are not allowed.
• Include any well-documented facts in the article, whether positive or negative, subject to the usual rules of Wikipedia editing.
• Correct any misleading edits submitted by other representatives of the employer.
• A full job specification, displayed publicly on their Wikipedia userpage. This job description will state:

• The services the editor is expected to render
• The payment the editor will receive, including the time and method of payments.
• The formal contact information - email, telephone, and address - for the payer, suitable for timely discussion of any compensation dispute.
• A link to a well-recognized organization, such as the Better Business Bureau, which recognizes the existence of the payer as a legitimate enterprise.
• The method by which performance is assessed, including contact information for the editor's immediate supervisor.
• Links to any and all relevant company policies that the Wikipedia editor must follow.
• A list of all other Wikipedia accounts currently being paid by this employer, so that the editor can ask them about their experiences and can avoid "meat puppetry" by not casting formal Support or Oppose votes on issues in which they are involved.

• A work schedule with limits agreed in advance, beyond which the editor shall be paid overtime or may decline the extra work.
• Timely payment. Editors shall not be expected to put in more than one week of work before receiving payment for it.
• Right to engage in social networking. Editors shall not be subject to termination or other punishment for conversations they engage in in any other capacity than the formal Wikipedia account with which they edit for pay.
• Paid editors may possess an alternate account and acknowledge there the account they use for paid editing, without facing evaluation or reprisal by the employer for the edits they make using that account.
• Paid editors shall receive at least the federal minimum wage of the United States, and their compensation shall otherwise comply with all applicable law.
• The employer's obligations under this "bill of rights" shall not be evaded by the use of intermediaries. The employer - who pays the paid editor - shall inform any of their clients, who have contracted them for the paid editing work, of their obligations to ensure that this "bill of rights" is complied with.
• Any employer or client who does not ensure that their obligations are met may be banned or indefinitely blocked by administrators or by other community processes.