Pittsburgh-area daycare owner accused of not paying employees; workers walk off job

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A daycare owner is accused of not paying her employees. Employees said enough is enough and walked off the job, forcing the daycare to close.

The letter on the door of the Kinder Academy in Moon Township said the facility will be temporarily closed. Megan Brown worked there for about eight months and enrolled her children there. She said signs started appearing something was up.

"She would say, 'We're not getting direct deposit, you'll get paper checks, you'll have them this day,' and then we didn't have them that day, and then she's like, 'Payroll didn't run, and it will have to run another day,'" Brown said.

The employees' director was allegedly told by Amy Wilsher to not give the employees overtime, and then on Friday, the employees had enough and walked out.

"So, all the employees were like, 'If you're not going to pay us, we're not going to work,' so we left," Brown said.

For families, it's turned their world upside down. They have paid tuition, and find themselves up the creek without a paddle.

"It was really hard. I remember turning families away at the door because we had no one to watch them," Brown said.

For Brown, it has her trying to figure out what's next. She has three children and is now looking for a new job and childcare.

"I don't know. I've been applying to jobs all day. It's hard," Brown said.

Some of her colleagues have been offering to help families who don't have any place to take their children right now.

"We're sorry. We've reached out to so many parents. We're so sorry," Brown said.

KDKA-TV had reached out to Wilsher to see what she had to say on the matter but has not heard back.

According to the Better Business Bureau, the facility scored an F, was not BBB accredited, and has a 1/5 customer review. The Pa. Department of Human Services won't confirm or deny if they are investigating the daycare.

In the letter, it's anticipated this closure will last a couple of more weeks.