Employer failed to pay rent, salaries

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A business unable to pay employees was also failing to make rent payments.

My Town Media employees expecting to pick up past due paychecks showed up Monday to find a note from Capital Leasing informing them the building owner had taken possession of the property.

Capital Leasing says My Town Media was consistently missing rent payments ,and employees waiting outside the building will have to contact the business owner on how to pick up their checks.

Several employees have waited for weeks to receive the money owed to them and frustrations are high.

“Our families are depending on us, rent is due, checks are bouncing and now we are further in the hole,” said employee Sheretta Winston. “We have performed the job we are supposed to be paid for, and it is not fair.”

The Texas Workforce Commission says they have received several recent claims against My Town Media, and an investigator will determine on an individual basis what wages should be paid.

“If we determine wages are owed to a worker, the employer has to pay those wages,” said TWC spokesperson Ann Hatchitt. “We can freeze bank accounts so employers take it seriously when they get a letter like that.”

Workers who feel they are owed wages should file a claim at the Texas Workforce Commission labor laws department.

Via its blog, My Town Media owner Christian Hunter has maintained workers will receive their money. The original date for checks to be ready was April 30th, but as of Monday, May 03rd, workers were still wondering when they would get paid.

The business has been floundering amid reports of bad business practices.

RipoffReport.com lists the business, formerly known as Second Meta, on its website. Owner Christian Hunter had ownership in a similar company in California which was the subject of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit in November 1998.

KXAN has spoken with Hunter by phone, but he has declined all interview requests.