PITTSBURG, Kan. — Employees at the Pittsburg Beef-a-Roo received an unpleasant surprise Friday, June 12. Instead of seeing money in their bank accounts, they received a promise of payment on Monday.
At least one former employee did not receive his check deposit, which normally came every two weeks on Fridays, until after 3 p.m. Monday.
The former employee, who will be referred to as Todd because he fears that speaking out could jeopardize future employment, realized on Saturday afternoon that his paycheck from Beef-a-Roo was not in his bank account. Todd had resigned earlier that week but knew he still had at least one paycheck still coming.
When he reached out to a member of management, that person told Todd through message that no one was getting paid until Monday. When Todd asked why, the person stated, “The company is out of money.”
Todd was later sent screenshots, which Todd later sent to The Morning Sun, from a group chat in which Beef-a-Roo Vice President Jeremy Wise stated, “if I had known what was going to happen today, was going to happen, I 100% would have made it known. I was unaware just like you were until I woke up this morning. And that is the complete gods honest truth. That being said: I know we’re all in a bad mental state and truthfully, I don’t blame y’all one bit for the frustrations you feel. I want you to know I spent today in a weird state and my message was received. I have some big announcements next week that are going to push this brand into the next level with something’s that are changing.
“That being said: while I understand the feelings and the potential impact this is causing you:
“All Salary Managers: If you stay employed with us, and keep your buildings open this weekend: you all will be receiving a bonus on your next scheduled paychecks. (Friday excluded)
“All hourly members: will receive 10 hours of PTO added to their bank. Also; all hourly members who work FRIDAY, SATURDAY, or SUNDAY will be receiving time and a half for working their shifts and keeping the buildings open.”
Todd initially made a post on social media stating that not paying their employees was illegal with screenshots of the Wise’s message but later removed the post. A former team member told Todd that Wise allegedly said if he found out who sent the screenshots to Todd, they would be fired immediately.
“It's totally unfair and I'm just tired of these corporations taking advantage of their workers just to turn a profit, and to expect us to work for free to keep their business open,” Todd said. “We're already not paid enough. One of our coworkers there is literally homeless, and he's working there.”
When The Morning Sun called Beef-a-Roo and asked for Wise’s email address or phone number to ask about the situation, the employee who answered the phone said, “Sorry, we're not allowed to give information to you guys.”
The Morning Sun also sent an email to the corporate office, sent a private message to Wise through LinkedIn, but received no response by press time.
Todd said he filed an official complaint with the Kansas Department of Labor.
“I've sweated side by side with these people, and it's just it's not fair,” he said. “And I'm not going to take it, and no one else is going to stand up for them either. So, I'm not just doing it for me, it's for the workers there too, they deserve to be paid for what they worked.”
Beef-a-Roo is a fast-food chain restaurant that originated in 1967 in Rockford, Illinois. According to the Rock River Current, a Rockford-area news outlet, at the end of April, the Harlem School District was having trouble collecting money from fundraisers hosted by Beef-a-Roo.
“District administrators said that checks were either bounced or payments were never received for Loves Park Elementary School, Harlem Middle School, Ralston Elementary School, Maple Elementary School and the Parker Early Education Center,” Rock River Current stated.
The Rock River Current also provided a written statement Wise gave.
“Over the past several months, our organization has undergone a period of internal transition,” the statement said. “This has included changes in leadership, particularly within our finance function, as well as a transition between financial institutions. During this time, certain administrative and processing disruptions may have occurred as systems, processes, and oversight responsibilities were being realigned. We want to be clear that we have taken steps to address this matter.”
The Morning Sun reached out to The Rock River Current to see if the issue was resolved and a reporter responded to that he hadn’t talked to the school district since the article. The Morning Sun could not reach anyone at the Harlem School District.
This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.
