I daresay the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania disagrees with you about whether Zeta Design & Development, LLC is a company.
Cost for non-employees is "allowed" for the practical reason that if it weren't, an open company couldn't participate in the economy as it stands today.
Didn't realize this was a Pittsburgh area company, are you involved with any of the tech groups in the area? Also, you have my respect if you can pull off something non-standard within the state, I've found PA to be a real PITA to deal with compared to say Maryland or especially Delaware.
More involved with the startup/AlphaLab community then the specific tech groups (going to the RubyConf though), I'm sure we'll cross paths at some point!
Cost for non-employees is "allowed" for the practical reason that if it weren't, an open company couldn't participate in the economy as it stands today.
If you want transparency without the non-compensation, look into B Corporations: http://www.bcorporation.net/about