By Eric Fetters
Herald Writer
A cellular services dealer with several area stores allegedly hasn’t paid the wages owed to a number of laid-off employees, prompting complaints to the state and possible legal action.
Consolidated Cellular, an authorized dealer for several major wireless companies, abruptly closed several of its retail stores — including a number in Snohomish and Island counties — in late March.
Former workers said they were left without jobs and without money they earned prior to the closure.
"I was at work, getting ready to open up, when I received a call from the main office saying, ‘Don’t bother to open up, we’re closing today,’" said Josh Daniel of Marysville, who worked at VComm Wireless in Everett, a subsidiary of Consolidated. "That’s the first I heard of it."
Daniel and others said they were given final paychecks, but they bounced. Daniel said he still hasn’t gotten that money.
He and several other former workers said they are considering taking owner John Falavolito to court.
Falavolito, who operates the company from Sedro-Woolley, did not return calls left at his office.
Steve Pierce, a spokesman for the state Department of Labor &Industries, confirmed that the agency has gotten calls from former employees about not being paid. At this point, however, there’s not a formal probe.
"We’ve received some wage complaints, about 12 to 15, and we’re looking into those," he said. "To call it an investigation is kind of a misnomer."
He added that if the employees hire an attorney to take legal action, the state agency would step back and let the courts resolve the dispute.
Several local Consolidated stores are still closed or could not be reached. The phone numbers for the locations in Lake Stevens, Marysville, Monroe, Snohomish and Oak Harbor have been disconnected. A call to the VComm office in Everett also found a disconnected number.
On Thursday, the Consolidated store at 2227 Broadway in Everett was closed "due to illness," according to a sign on the door. It directed customers to the company’s locations in Bothell and Woodinville, which are apparently still open.
Daniels said he had heard some of the closed stores were reopening, but with different employees.
In business since 1987, the company boasted 20 locations in Western Washington, Spokane and Oregon before the recent closures.
You can call Herald Writer Eric Fetters at 425-339-3453
or send e-mail to fetters@heraldnet.com.
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