Last updated October 17, 2026

You pay TradeRate a Referral Fee of 5% of the Worker's Annualized Base Pay for each person you hire through TradeRate, and nothing otherwise. Eligible early employers pay 3% while TradeRate's promotional rate applies to their account. Annualized Base Pay is the agreed starting base hourly rate multiplied by the expected hours per week and by 52, or, for a salaried hire, the agreed annual base salary. For example, a hire at $40 an hour for 40 hours a week has an Annualized Base Pay of $83,200 and a Referral Fee of $4,160 (or $2,496 at the 3% rate); at 20 hours a week it is $41,600 and $2,080 (or $1,248). Searching, posting jobs, sending introductions, messaging, interviews, and declined, ignored or expired introductions are free.

These Terms are a contract between TradeRate ("TradeRate", "we"), and the company that creates an employer account (the "Employer", "you"). By ticking the box on the Employer Agreement screen and selecting "Accept and continue", you agree to these Terms on behalf of the Employer and confirm that you have authority to bind it. We record your account, the date and time, and the version of these Terms as proof of acceptance. This is an electronic signature and is as binding as a handwritten one.

This summary is for convenience. If it conflicts with the numbered sections below, the numbered sections control.

1. Definitions

• Platform: the TradeRate website and everything on it, including search, introductions and messaging.
• Worker: a tradesperson with a TradeRate profile.
• Introduction: a structured offer to talk that you send a Worker through the Platform, linked to one of your job posts and stating the role, location, pay range, employment type, expected weekly hours, schedule, benefits and requirements.
• Accepted Introduction: an Introduction that the Worker accepts on the Platform. The date of acceptance is the Acceptance Date.
• Hire: the Worker begins work for the Employer or any Affiliate in any capacity (see section 3).
• Affiliate: any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the Employer, and any staffing agency, subcontractor or customer through which the Employer places the Worker.
• Expected Weekly Hours: the hours per week the Worker is expected to work in the role, as reported under section 2.4 or, if not reported, as stated in the Introduction.
• Annualized Base Pay: for ongoing hourly employment, the Worker's agreed starting base hourly rate on the Hire date multiplied by the Expected Weekly Hours and by 52. For ongoing salaried employment, the agreed starting annual base salary; a part-time salary is the agreed salary and is not grossed up to a full-time equivalent. It does not include overtime, bonuses, per diem, shift differentials, benefits or fringe contributions. Section 2.1(c) covers temporary and seasonal work.
• Applicable Rate: 5% (five percent), or the promotional rate of 3% (three percent) if TradeRate has marked your account as eligible for it at the time of the Introduction. The Applicable Rate is recorded on each Introduction when it is sent and does not change for that Introduction.
• Referral Fee: the Applicable Rate multiplied by the Worker's Annualized Base Pay, per Hire.
• Protection Period: the 12 months after the Acceptance Date.

2. The Referral Fee

2.1 The fee. For each Hire you will pay TradeRate a Referral Fee equal to the Applicable Rate multiplied by the Worker's Annualized Base Pay. (a) Hourly, ongoing: agreed starting base hourly rate x Expected Weekly Hours x 52 x Applicable Rate. Examples at 5%: $40.00 an hour at 40 hours a week = $83,200 Annualized Base Pay and a $4,160 fee; $40.00 an hour at 20 hours a week = $41,600 and $2,080. At the 3% promotional rate those fees are $2,496 and $1,248. (b) Salaried, ongoing: the agreed annual base salary x Applicable Rate. Example: a $60,000 base salary is a $3,000 fee at 5% or $1,800 at 3%. (c) Temporary and seasonal work: you will report the expected weekly hours and the expected length of the engagement. TradeRate will confirm in writing, before invoicing, whether the Referral Fee for that engagement is calculated on an annualized basis under (a) or only on the scheduled term, and will not invoice until that basis is agreed with you. (d) The fee is never calculated on an assumed 40-hour week; if expected hours are missing, section 2.4 applies.

2.2 When it is earned. The Referral Fee is earned on the Hire date, which is the Worker's first day of work. Nothing is owed before a Hire. You owe no fee for searching, sending Introductions, declined or ignored Introductions, interviews or offers that do not result in a Hire.

2.3 When it is due. TradeRate will invoice you after the Hire. Payment is due within 15 days of the invoice date. You may pay by the card you keep on file, by ACH or by check. By adding a card you authorize TradeRate to charge it for any Referral Fee that is past due.

2.4 Reporting a Hire. You will tell TradeRate through the Platform within 5 business days after the Worker accepts a job offer or starts work, whichever is first, with the start date, the employment type, and either the Worker's starting base hourly rate and Expected Weekly Hours or the agreed annual base salary. If you report the hourly rate but not the hours, Expected Weekly Hours are the hours stated in the Introduction; if the Introduction stated none, TradeRate will ask you and the Worker and will invoice once the hours are confirmed. If you do not report the starting pay, the Referral Fee is calculated on the highest pay stated in the Introduction or job post, or, if none was stated, on the pay the Worker reports to TradeRate. TradeRate may also confirm a Hire with the Worker. If TradeRate's records show a Hire, the fee is due unless you show in writing that no Hire occurred.

2.5 Late payment. Unpaid amounts accrue interest at 1.5% per month, or the maximum rate allowed by law if lower, from the due date. You will also pay the reasonable costs of collection, including attorneys' fees, if we have to enforce this section.

2.6 One fee per Worker. Only one Referral Fee is due for a Worker, no matter how many roles the Worker later takes with you, as long as the Worker stays employed or is re-engaged within the Protection Period. A separate Referral Fee is due for each different Worker you hire.

2.7 Taxes and price changes. The fee excludes sales or similar taxes, which you will pay if they apply. TradeRate may change the standard or promotional rate for future Introductions on 30 days' written notice, and may end promotional eligibility for future Introductions at any time. A change never applies to an Introduction that has already been sent, which keeps the Applicable Rate recorded on it. Agreements accepted under earlier versions of these Terms keep the fee terms of that version for Introductions sent while it applied.

3. Protection Period and what counts as a Hire

3.1 Protection Period. If a Worker becomes your employee, contractor or temporary worker, or works for an Affiliate, at any time during the Protection Period after an Accepted Introduction, that is a Hire and the Referral Fee is due. This applies even if the Worker was hired for a different role, through a different channel, after a break in contact, or after another recruiter also introduced the Worker.

3.2 Any capacity. A Hire includes full-time, part-time, seasonal, 1099, temp-to-hire and agency placements, and work performed through an Affiliate or subcontractor.

3.3 No workaround. You will not avoid or delay a Hire, direct a Worker to apply elsewhere, ask a Worker to delay a start date, or use another person to hire a Worker in order to avoid the Referral Fee. If you do, the fee is due as if the Hire had happened on the day we learn of it.

3.4 Workers you already know. If you already employed, or were in active written hiring talks with, a Worker before the Introduction, tell us in writing within 5 business days of the Introduction and no fee is due for that Worker. Otherwise the fee applies.

3.5 Protection from the Worker's side. The Worker's right to find work anywhere is not limited by these Terms. Only your obligation to pay the Referral Fee on a Hire from an Accepted Introduction applies.

4. Worker privacy and use of Worker information

4.1 Anonymity before acceptance. Until a Worker accepts your Introduction, you will see only the anonymous profile TradeRate shows you. Introductions are sent only through the Platform; you cannot and will not contact a Worker outside the Platform before the Worker accepts. You will not attempt to identify a Worker, find out who the Worker works for, or contact the Worker outside the Platform, by any means, including searching the profile's details, asking others, comparing it with other sources, or using any information you obtain from a declined, expired or unanswered Introduction. A Worker's acceptance of an Introduction releases the Worker's name, email and phone number to the Employer that sent that Introduction only; a decline, an expiry or no response releases nothing.

4.2 After acceptance. When a Worker accepts, TradeRate shares the Worker's name, email and phone number with you so that you can discuss the role. Acceptance is permission to talk; it is not acceptance of a job and it is not a Hire. TradeRate never shows you a Worker's current employer, current pay or pay range, pay-derived rankings, exact address, company names in work history, license or card numbers, or any identifying document, before or after acceptance, unless the Worker chooses to tell you directly.

4.3 Permitted use. You may use Worker information only to evaluate and hire that Worker for the role in the Introduction. You will not sell it, share it with anyone outside your hiring team, add it to marketing lists, use it to recruit for other roles or companies, or contact the Worker for anything else.

4.4 Security and deletion. You will protect Worker information with reasonable safeguards. If a Worker is not hired, you will delete or stop using their contact details when they ask, and in any case within 90 days after the process ends, except where the law requires you to keep records.

4.5 Credential status. Each license or certification on a profile carries one of three statuses. Self-reported: entered by the Worker and not checked by TradeRate. Document submitted: the Worker has supplied evidence that TradeRate has received but not checked. Verified: TradeRate has checked the item through a defined process and records the date and method internally. Anything without a Verified status is unverified, and TradeRate does not check any other part of a profile. You remain responsible for checking licenses, certifications and references before you hire, including Verified items, which can lapse or be revoked.

4.6 Remedies for identification or off-platform contact. Attempting to identify a Worker, contacting a Worker outside the Platform before acceptance, or using Worker information beyond section 4.3 is a material breach of these Terms. TradeRate may suspend or terminate your account, withhold or cancel pending Introductions, and recover its losses and the losses of the affected Worker. TradeRate may seek injunctive relief and any other remedy available at law or in equity, and you will pay the reasonable costs, including attorneys' fees, of enforcing this section. Nothing in this section limits a Worker's own remedies.

5. Messaging and records

5.1 Talk on the Platform. After a Worker accepts, you will communicate with that Worker about the role through TradeRate messages until the Hire is reported or the process ends. You may schedule calls and interviews on Teams, Zoom or similar tools by sharing the meeting link in a TradeRate message.

5.2 Permanent record. Messages cannot be edited or deleted by either side. TradeRate keeps them, with timestamps, as a record of the conversation and may use that record to confirm Introductions, Hires and disputes. TradeRate may review messages to enforce these Terms, protect Workers, or respond to legal requests.

5.3 Contact details are for hiring. Having a Worker's phone or email after acceptance does not allow you to move the hiring conversation off the Platform to avoid the record. Contact outside the Platform to schedule or follow up is fine as long as the substance of the offer, interview and start date is also confirmed in TradeRate messages.

5.4 Conduct. You will not send harassing, discriminatory, deceptive or spam messages, or ask a Worker for money, personal financial information or unrelated personal data.

5.5 Audit. On request, and no more than once a year unless we suspect a missed fee, you will give TradeRate reasonable proof of whom you hired and when from the Workers you were introduced to, such as an offer letter, payroll start record or a signed statement from an officer.

6. Your responsibilities

6.1 You are the employer. You alone decide whom to hire and on what terms. TradeRate is not the employer, a staffing agency or a party to any employment relationship, and does not run payroll, benefits or background checks.

6.2 Accurate offers. Each job post and Introduction will describe a real, open job with a definite pay minimum and maximum, location, employment type, expected weekly hours, schedule, benefits and requirements. "Competitive" or similar is not a pay figure. You will honor the pay and terms in an Introduction or tell the Worker clearly before they accept any change, and you will close a job post when it is no longer open.

6.3 Fair hiring. You will follow all laws that apply to hiring, including federal, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut laws and local ordinances on discrimination, pay transparency, background checks and wage and hour. You will not use TradeRate to discriminate based on any protected characteristic.

6.4 Authority and accuracy. You confirm that the company name and contact details you give are accurate, that you are authorized to recruit for the company, and that you will keep your account secure and not share your login.

6.5 Approval. TradeRate reviews employers before they can search profiles, post jobs or send Introductions, and may refuse, suspend or remove an account at any time, for example for unsafe conduct, misleading offers, breaches of section 4 or unpaid fees.

7. Payment, card on file and disputes about a fee

7.1 Card on file. You will keep a valid payment card on file before your first Hire is confirmed. We store card details with our payment processor, not on TradeRate servers.

7.2 Invoice disputes. If you believe an invoice is wrong, tell us in writing within 10 days of the invoice date, with your reasons. You will pay any amount not in dispute on time. We will work with you in good faith to resolve it within 30 days.

7.3 No refunds. The Referral Fee is non-refundable once earned. We do not refund or credit it if the Worker later leaves, is let go, or does not work out.

7.4 No set-off. You may not withhold or reduce the Referral Fee because of any claim you have against TradeRate or a Worker.

7.5 Suspension. If a fee is more than 30 days late, TradeRate may suspend your account and stop showing you new profiles until you pay. Your payment obligations continue.

8. Disclaimers, liability and indemnity

8.1 As is. TradeRate provides the Platform "as is". We do not promise that any Worker is qualified, licensed, available or honest, that the Platform will be uninterrupted, or that you will make a hire.

8.2 Limit of liability. To the fullest extent the law allows, TradeRate is not liable for lost profits, lost business or indirect, special or consequential damages. TradeRate's total liability for any claim is limited to the Referral Fees you paid to TradeRate in the 12 months before the claim. This does not limit your duty to pay the Referral Fee or liability that cannot be limited by law.

8.3 Indemnity. You will defend and indemnify TradeRate against third-party claims, and the resulting costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, that arise from your hiring decisions, your breach of section 4 or section 6, or your violation of law.

9. Term, governing law and general terms

9.1 Term and ending. These Terms last until either side closes the account on written notice. Sections 2, 3, 4, 5.2, 7, 8 and 9 survive. Closing the account does not cancel a Referral Fee that is already owed or that becomes owed because of an Accepted Introduction from the Protection Period.

9.2 Governing law and courts. New York law governs these Terms, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any lawsuit must be brought in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and each side consents to those courts.

9.3 Informal first. Before suing, each side will give the other written notice of the dispute and 30 days to resolve it, except for claims to collect a Referral Fee or to stop misuse of Worker information.

9.4 Changes. TradeRate may update these Terms by posting a new version and emailing you. New terms apply to Introductions sent after the effective date. Using the Platform after that date means you accept them. A change to the Referral Fee follows section 2.7.

9.5 Electronic signature and records. You agree that clicking to accept is a binding signature under the federal E-SIGN Act and the New York Electronic Signatures and Records Act, and that TradeRate's electronic records of acceptance, Introductions, messages and invoices are valid evidence.

9.6 Whole agreement, severability, assignment. These Terms are the entire agreement on this subject. If a part is found unenforceable, the rest stays in force and the court may enforce that part to the extent allowed. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. TradeRate may assign them to a successor. Waiver of a breach is not waiver of another.

9.7 Contact. Notices to TradeRate: support@traderate.co.

Last updated October 17, 2026

TradeRate is a free, anonymous pay check and talent network for skilled tradespeople in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. This policy explains what we collect, who can see it, and how you can delete it. In short: employers never see your name, contact details, current employer or exact pay until you accept an introduction from them, and we never sell your personal information.

In this policy, "TradeRate", "we" and "us" mean the operator of TradeRate. Questions or requests: support@traderate.co.

1. What we collect

From workers:

• Your trade, area, years of experience, certifications and licenses, optional job title and type of work, and your pay.
• Your name, email address and phone number, and a password (stored in a protected, scrambled form by our sign-in provider; we cannot read it).
• Work history, license numbers, profile text and skills you choose to add in your account.
• Messages you send through TradeRate, and your answers to offers and hire reports.

From employers: company name, the email you sign in with, your approval status, the date you accepted our terms, introductions you send, messages, and hire reports. When we add card payments, our payment provider will handle card details; we will not store full card numbers.

Automatically: basic technical information that our hosting provider records when you visit (such as your IP address and browser type), and small items stored in your browser to keep you signed in and remember a step in progress. We do not use advertising trackers.

2. What employers can see

Before you accept an introduction, an employer can see only an anonymous profile: your trade, area, experience level, the licenses and certifications you list (with their status), the kind of work you do, and your availability. Where only a few workers share a trade and area, we show a broader area and experience band. Employers cannot see your name, email, phone number, current employer, your current pay, any pay range based on it, or license numbers, before or after you accept.

If you accept an introduction, that one employer can see your name, email address and phone number. Your current employer and your pay are never shown to any employer, not even as a range. If you decline, ignore or let an introduction expire, nothing about you is shared. Anonymous means anonymous to employers: TradeRate itself keeps your account and pay details to run the service, as this policy describes.

You choose who ever learns who you are. Each introduction is a separate decision.

3. How we use your pay

We use the pay you enter to show you how it compares with the market. As more workers join, pay reported by TradeRate members may be combined into group figures for a trade and area. We only include a group figure when there are enough comparable reports that no one can be picked out (at least 10), and we never show an individual's pay to anyone. Figures may also be shown in broader groups (for example a whole trade across the tri-state area) when a local group is too small.

4. Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it for advertising. We share it only:

• With an employer, as described in section 2.
• With companies that run the service for us, such as our website host, database and sign-in provider, and email delivery. They may use your information only to provide those services to us.
• If the law requires it, or to protect the rights, safety or property of workers, employers, TradeRate or others.
• If TradeRate is sold or merged, in which case the new owner must honor this policy.

5. Keeping you safe

Information is stored with a reputable cloud database provider. Your name, contact details, exact pay and license numbers are kept in private records that only your own account can read, plus the limited sharing in section 2. We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, but no system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee it.

6. How long we keep information

We keep your information while your account is open. If you delete your account (section 7), we remove it as described there.

Some records must be kept after an introduction is accepted, because employers owe a fee if they hire someone they met through TradeRate, and both sides may need to show what happened. Messages between a worker and an employer are saved permanently and cannot be edited or deleted. We keep these records only as long as needed for that purpose and any legal requirement.

7. Your choices, including deleting your account

• See and edit your information at any time in My account.
• Hide your profile from employers by turning off your profile's visibility in My account.
• Delete your account in My account, under Delete your account. If you have never accepted an introduction or sent a message, your account and all of your information are deleted permanently.
• If you have accepted an introduction or sent a message, we still remove everything personal: your name, email, phone, pay, work history, certifications, license numbers and profile text, and you can no longer sign in. We keep a hidden record of the introduction and the messages in that conversation so that the employer's obligations and the record of the conversation stay intact. Those records are not tied to your name or contact details after deletion.
• You can also email us at support@traderate.co to ask for a copy of your information or for help deleting it. Employer accounts are closed by contacting us, so that any open introductions and fees can be settled first.

8. Who this is for

TradeRate is for people 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

9. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will update the date and tell signed-in users before the change takes effect. The date at the top shows which version is in force.

Last updated October 17, 2026

These terms are between you and TradeRate ("TradeRate", "we", "us"). TradeRate is free for workers. By ticking the box when you create an account, you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy.

The one thing we ask in return: if you take a job with an employer you met through TradeRate, you must tell us (section 4). It does not cost you anything. It is how employers pay us, which is why TradeRate stays free for you.

1. What TradeRate is

TradeRate gives you a free pay comparison and lets you be found by employers without revealing who you are. We are not your employer, a staffing agency or your agent. We do not promise you a job, an offer, or any particular pay. Pay estimates are estimates drawn from public data and, as the network grows, TradeRate members. They are not advice, and actual pay varies by employer.

2. Your account

• You are 18 or older and the information you give us is true and your own, including your trade, experience, certifications and pay.
• You will keep one account, under your own email address, and keep your password private.
• Certifications and licenses are shown as reported by you. TradeRate does not check them, and you must not claim a license or certification you do not hold.

3. Staying anonymous

Employers see only an anonymous profile until you accept their introduction. After you accept, that employer sees your name, email and phone number. Your current employer and your pay are never shown to employers, not even as a range, before or after you accept. Accepting lets that one employer talk with you; it is not accepting a job. You can decline any introduction without giving a reason. Details are in the Privacy Policy.

4. Telling us if you take the job

4.1 What you must tell us. If you accept an introduction on TradeRate, and at any time in the 12 months after you accepted it you accept a job offer from, or start work for, that employer or any company connected to it (including through a staffing agency, subcontractor or customer), you must tell TradeRate. You do this in My account, under Offers, with the "I took this job" button, by giving the employer's name (shown on the offer) and your start date.

4.2 When. Tell us within 10 days of accepting the job offer or starting work, whichever comes first.

4.3 Why. Employers agree to pay TradeRate a referral fee when they hire someone they met through TradeRate. Your report is how we know that a hire happened. You never owe a fee, and nothing is taken from your pay.

4.4 Check-ins. You agree that we may email you after an accepted introduction, around 30, 90 and 180 days later, to ask whether you started a job with that employer. Answering takes a few seconds. We may share with that employer that a hire was reported, but not your other information beyond what you already agreed to share by accepting.

4.5 Be truthful. Do not make a false report and do not leave out a hire. If you do not tell us, we may suspend or remove your account, and your account may no longer be used to receive introductions.

4.6 What you do not have to tell us. Jobs with employers who did not contact you through TradeRate, and jobs you take after the 12-month period, are not covered.

By ticking the box when you create your account, you confirm that you understand and agree to this section.

5. Messages and conduct

Messages between you and an employer go through TradeRate and are saved permanently. They cannot be edited or deleted, and we may review them to settle a dispute, enforce these terms, or keep people safe. Be honest and respectful. Do not harass anyone, send spam, share another person's information, or use TradeRate for anything illegal. We may remove accounts that break these rules.

6. Ending your account

You can delete your account at any time in My account. What is removed and what is kept is explained in section 7 of the Privacy Policy. Ending your account does not cancel the reporting duty in section 4 for jobs you have already accepted or for a hire that follows an introduction you already accepted.

We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms or that we reasonably believe is fake.

7. Our responsibility

TradeRate is provided "as is". We do not guarantee that it will always be available or error-free, that any employer is real or will treat you well, or that any pay estimate is correct. Check an employer, a job and its terms yourself before accepting. To the fullest extent the law allows, our total responsibility to you for any claim is limited to $100, and we are not liable for lost wages, lost opportunities or indirect losses.

8. Changes, law and contact

We may update these terms. If a change matters, we will tell signed-in users before it takes effect, and continuing to use TradeRate afterwards means you accept it. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, and any dispute will be handled in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York. Contact: support@traderate.co.