MOSES LAKE, Wash – In early December, Eric Leslie said he received a message from Cazier Enterprises Inc., the franchisee of the Subway he was employed at. He was told the company’s payroll service was down, and they would send out paper checks. He and other employees did receive the checks. However, they came without a pay stub.
Leslie’s wife, Taija, reached out to the Help Me Team. She told NonStop Local that because the payroll system was down, she was not sure the checks were even accurate.
“They said the paychecks could be over, they could be short, all the deductions were made by hand.”
She added that the payroll system fiasco was the least of their worries because on Dec. 22, things took a turn, “the Regional Managers started calling all the stores and telling them you should probably close. We don’t have the money to pay anyone.”
Leslie said Managers were later instructed to purchase gift cards so employees could have 25-50% of their paycheck before the holiday season, “How are you supposed to have a good Christmas when you don’t even know if you have a job?” said Leslie.
According to Leslie, they finally received some clarity from upper management as to what was going on, “the reason that she wasn’t telling anybody any of this is because they viewed everyone as their children and they were trying to protect everybody. But, you’ve known for over a year that this was heading in this direction that there was going to be no money in the account.”
Leslie said he has received his last few paychecks. However, he added he hasn’t been paid his November 2023 bonus or additional expenses, which he said totaled $500.
Joy Cazier, the Vice President of Cazier Enterprises Inc., would not speak to NonStopLocal on Camera but told us they are quote “trying our best to get everything back and stabilized.”
Leslie says he left the company in early January and said he feels lied to. In terms of what the future holds for him and his family, he’s not sure what comes next, “I can’t make ends meet due to the fact that you guys screwed up, that hurts me. I can’t put my blood sweat and tears into this place like I used to. For them to just say ‘Hey, we might make it we might not.’ I couldn’t do it anymore.”
