Group of Club Q employees upset with amount received from owner’s GoFundMe payments

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Club Q employees expected to receive more money than they did when owner Matthew Haynes doled out funds Friday from his online fundraiser.

About a week after a gunman entered Club Q, shooting and killing five and injuring several others, Haynes organized a GoFundMe to “ensure the Club Q staff and entertainers don’t suffer financial hardship due to this horrific act” and to “remodel Club Q.”

The GoFundMe description goes on to state:

“The owners of Club Q will be responsible for allocating these funds. Employee and Entertainer funds will be released based on the percentage of hours worked. We intend to ensure employees and entertainers do not suffer any loss of income while we rebuild our space.

The remaining funds will go directly to an official Club Q memorial for the victims, remodeling and ensuring a safe space for the future.”

The GoFundMe has raised more than $55,000, yet before Friday, not a dime had been distributed to Club Q employees and performers. After raising concerns that the money wasn't being used as intended, Haynes announced payments to employees would be distributed Feb. 17.

He told 13 Investigates W-2 employees of Club Q, like bartenders, would receive 1.5 times their monthly wage average between September and November of 2022. He said these funds will make up for anything not covered by unemployment.

Performers, who weren't W-2 employees at Club Q, and therefore not eligible for unemployment, would receive three times their monthly wage average from when they performed at Club Q between September and November of 2022 to make up for last three months the club has been closed.

"We wanted to make up the difference between their unemployment and their wages," Haynes said. "Our goal was to see what we could do to make up the difference so that there was no loss of income.”

Haynes said although he explained the formula to 13 Investigates, he never relayed it directly to Club Q employees. He said he told the formula to the Bread and Roses Legal Center, which is helping some Club Q employees during this dispute.

A press release last week, announcing the rebuild of Club Q and the distribution of funds, only made the situation more confusing.

It states Club Q ownership will "take the historic average of net monthly earnings and distribute up to three months wages in a single lump-sum payment." This was the only details Club Q employees received about the distribution of funds.

Ashtin Gamblin, the door girl during the shooting, received $981 — the equivalent to 1.5 months of wages, she said.

"A month and a half is not clear enough, because it's still closed," Gamblin said. "According to their initial verbiage, we weren't supposed to suffer any wage losses while it was closed."

Jeremih Griffith, a Club Q-employed security guard, expected to receive three months worth. Instead, he also was compensated 1.5 times his monthly average. Both Griffith and Gamblin said Haynes never told employees what they would be paid.

A group of Club Q employees are still demanding Haynes release 75% of the funds to be distributed among employees and entertainers.

Michael Anderson, who was bartending the night of the shooting, agrees the specific details of how funds were distributed were never relayed to employees. But he said he is just grateful to receive the support.

"People like myself are just grateful for the support that we've gotten thus far, and more importantly, I'm just grateful to be alive," Anderson said.

He said he has received four times as much money from the various fundraiser donations than he would have if he was still working at Club Q.

"People are upset about $55,000 when over $3 million have been raised for people like me and other victims," Anderson said. "It's literally like a drop in a bucket compared to the two big organizations helping us."

Haynes said he is willing to help any employee or entertainer who believes they haven't been fully compensated for their lost wages in the last three months.

"If there's an issue, we'll fix it," Haynes said. "We are true to our word and what we wanted to do. If they didn't get unemployment, for whatever reason, then let's fix that. Even if they did receive unemployment and our formula doesn't fully compensate, bring it in and let's fix it."

Haynes said the remaining GoFundMe money will go toward the renovations of Club Q in the hopes to reopen this fall. The interior gutting of the existing Club Q building hasn't been set, but that will begin in April.

The changes will include updated security measures, including screening technology and a hardened space, and a permanent vigil memorial to the five people who died during the tragic event. Initial design concepts are expected to be completed in the next four to six weeks, according to a press release.