I'll try to keep this short, im asking for advice because I feel genuinely wronged and exploited and I'm still reeling from what happened:
I got a new SALES (important detail) job in December selling solar to people. Specifically, it's a sales CLOSER position. Company/recruiter specifically advertised NO cold calling, NO door knocking, and payment via commissions only. My only responsibility is/was to go to the leads/appointments provided and show a customer a proposal and get them to sign. Pretty standard stuff. I was also promised paid training (I have this in writing from the recruiter). I completed all online and in person training by the end of January and I was expecting to go out on sales leads the next week. The sales manager pulls a bait and switch and says “We want you to knock doors for 2 weeks to TRY to get a power bill and prove you deserve leads” and asked that we do door to door knocking to generate our own leads/sales in order to EARN leads from the company. I thought “this wasn't what I signed up for, and this is not at all in the job description, but this job is a good opportunity for making good money so I decided to be a team player and tough out the 2 weeks”. So I did 2 weeks of FREE/UNPAID labor by door knocking to try and get a utility bill to prove im an asset and get access to the job i applied for and was hired for (yes, i signed job contract and everything). Also keep in mind, there's an entire hourly paid position dedicated to knocking on doors, so they have the means to pay for this, but didn't because we are not door knockers, but sales closers. It took me 3 weeks, and it didn't come from a door knock, but it came from a family friend who referenced a neighbor who was interested in solar, so they gave me their power bill. I was excited that I finally got a power bill and told my boss and he said “great, we will go with you to see how you do on your first presentation” I said cool, so I bought some time with the customer and told them it would take a few days to put the proposal together. Meanwhile, I texted and called BOTH managers for FOUR DAYS asking when they were free so I could schedule the appointment. They ignored me for half a week and called me today and said I was fired for not meeting expectations and getting a power bill from a door knock. They NEVER indicated it was a problem that I got a lead through networking instead of wasting time on doors. I've gone many weeks without pay just to do a bunch of free labor, give the company a lead, and then get fired for how i got it.
TLDR; I applied and got a job and when I showed up after completing the training, I was forced to do a completely different job for free/unpaid in order to gain access to the job i applied for and never even got paid for training (which was promised in writing) and fired after I finally got a lead. So I worked for free for 8 weeks no pay and never given the position I applied for, then fired for saying I can't work this long for free.
Is there anything I can do to hold them accountable? I have lots of evidence in writing/text/email from recruiter and sales manager and other associates that validate everything im saying as truth. I feel like they certainly violated some kind of labor law or perhaps multiple (job bait and switch, fired for saying I wanted the job I applied for, forced to work for free to “earn” the closer position I applied for)
My main goal is to hold them accountable so this never happens to another human, but forcing them to pay me for the time I worked would be nice too. Not really looking for a wild settlement, I just wanna be paid for my training and labor.