What sounds reasonable to you about someone making $10-20 an hour having to pay $1000 just to start working? In order to make any money you have to work 50-100

What sounds reasonable to you about someone making $10-20 an hour having to pay $1000 just to start working? In order to make any money you have to work 50-100 hours (not including tax and whatnot). 1-3 full weeks working before you are back to where you started - how does that seem like a reasonable business model?