What I'd really like to see is a database of information about employers that's not readily available until you become an employee, like non-compete agreements, intellectual property assignments, etc.
If you've quit your job, sold your house / given up your apartment, moved all your stuff to a new city, then on your first day at your new job they hand you a stack of documents to sign including some (like non-compete agreements) that would have significantly influenced your decision to accept the job offer, then the employer has a great deal of leverage to get you to sign those documents.
It would be nice if this kind of information were more readily available in advance to people considering job offers.
Glassdoor.com is about the closest to that. At least you can get a high level feel on whether the company is a dumpster fire or not.
So the trick with that idea, and I think it's a valuable one, is how to monetize it. Companies that do recruiting are paid by the companies. Who would pay the companies that work for the developer / contractor?
Ooof, I've always had the privilege of getting these up front with my offer. I don't think I'd agree to an offer without knowing what all of these were up front.
My first internship actually provided an IP agreement upfront.
Ever since then, I've told companies that in order to consider their offer, I also need details about their benefits and copies of anything that I would need to sign as a condition of my employment.
I haven't had that many jobs, but so far no one has said no.
Once I realized how toxic some companies NDAs are (1), I ask for them once I get an offer letter. Given the severity of their terms, it would be highly harmful to sign an offer letter without seeing all of the employment terms and conditions up front.
1: One small company that threw one of these at me three months into my employment nearly caused me to quit. Its NDA forbade me from working for 1 year for any employer that engaged in any metrics-related work - I will let you savor the broad toxicity of that statement. I objected strenuously and was able to get an adjustment to the terms.
If you've quit your job, sold your house / given up your apartment, moved all your stuff to a new city, then on your first day at your new job they hand you a stack of documents to sign including some (like non-compete agreements) that would have significantly influenced your decision to accept the job offer, then the employer has a great deal of leverage to get you to sign those documents.
It would be nice if this kind of information were more readily available in advance to people considering job offers.