Owner of a Pittsburgh-area daycare center accused of not paying his employees; workers walk out of work

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) – The owner of a daycare center is accused of not paying her employees. The employees said enough was enough and walked off the job, forcing the daycare center to close.

The letter on the door of Kinder Academy in Moon Township said the facility was temporarily closing. Megan Brown worked there for about eight months and enrolled her children there. She said signs began to emerge that something was afoot.

“She said, 'We don't get direct deposit, you get paper checks, you get them the same day.' And then we didn't have any that day, and then she said, 'Payroll didn't work out and has to be done another day,'” Brown said.

Amy Wilsher reportedly told the human resources director not to allow employees to work overtime, and on Friday the employees had had enough and went on strike.

“All the employees said, 'If you don't pay us, we're not going to work.' So we left,” Brown said.

Life has been turned upside down for the families. They have paid the tuition fees and now they are left without a paddle.

“It was really hard. I remember having to turn families away at the door because we had no one to watch them,” Brown said.

Brown is now trying to figure out what to do next. She has three children and is now looking for a new job and childcare.

“I don't know. I've been applying for jobs all day. It's difficult,” Brown said.

Some of her colleagues have offered their help to families who currently have no place to take their children.

“We are sorry. We have contacted so many parents. We are so sorry,” Brown said.

KDKA-TV reached out to Wilsher to see what she had to say about the matter, but received no response.

According to the Better Business Bureau, the facility received a grade of F, was not BBB accredited, and has a customer rating of 1/5. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services does not confirm or deny whether it is investigating the daycare center.

The letter states that the closure is expected to last for several more weeks.