Kirby certainly has a large number of people willing to spend time typing in their complaints.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/in_home/kirby.htm
IMO an ethical company would take steps to ensure its “independent distributors” don’t do stuff like this. If they don’t, it looks very much like they approve or at least don’t care.
Some unethical companies use people who are actually employees, but pretends they are subcontractors or independent distributors to avoid paying taxes, dodge complaints, etc. Have been peripherally involved in the past with companies that functioned this way, and they are essentially frauds in being. Have no personal experience as to whether this applies to Kirby.
There is a problem with saying that distributors MUST do something. At that point, the manufacturer has put themselves into the hiring practices and if they don’t audit this, then they have DEFINITELY put themselves into a position of responsibility.
It is a Catch 22!!