Where I am now, they have a strictly enforced two-year limit on contractors. You can only be there as a contractor two years, then you MUST be gone at least three months before you can be put up for any other positions. The folks hate it, because it's a big brain drain (really, it takes two years to get to expert status on a system), but it's the company's law and there aren't exceptions made.
I did a contract stint at this same company ten years ago, and back then, there were no limits. There had been contractors there from the same company for 5+ years, and many of them were eventually offered full-time jobs. Now, they also have a strict policy against "rent to own"; they absolutely refuse to transition a contractor over to a full-time employee spot, no matter how good or useful the contractor is.
}:-)4
Could Congress kill the liability trap that leads to this situation with a law? Or would the robes just get all huffy and overrule them?
That's pretty harsh. Rent-to-own is how I got my job.
I worked for a company in downtown Boston a few years ago where half the employees were ten-dollar temps and IT was contract. Talk about cheap labor. The company didn't have to pay into a benefit or retirement plan, and there was no question about firing anyone. On the other hand, loyalty, motivation and pride went down the tubes. Some business plan! The job market has changed dramatically since then, and the outfit I'm with now uses some well-paid freelancers, and IT people are cherished members of the family. With no tool to measure, it's impossible to say that the workforce is more productive and dedicated, but it sure seems that way. If I've got a problem with my machine or the net, there is someone there within minutes, not days.
What an immensely stupid policy. One of the primary benefits of contracting work is the ability to try out many temps and only hire the one which works out well instead of relying on only interviews and references.
If the learning curve is two years, then it's poor management to not allow contractors with valuable (and expensive) knowledge not to stay on or transition at the two year point.
Unfortunately, that's not unusual -- it appears to me that poor management is a problem in many American companies.