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Some workers at Jacksonville IKEA opening got stiffed

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A group of workers said they got stiffed after working at IKEA’s grand opening in Jacksonville.

It’s been more than three months since they worked as parking attendants and they haven’t been paid yet.

Action News Jax got results for those workers on Tuesday, after sending one email.

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IKEA didn't fail to pay the workers. Multiple emails show that was Accurate Event Group, a third-party event management company that IKEA hired to staff the grand opening, is the company that should have paid them.

“I worked over there waving cars in,” said Richard, who asked Action News Jax to conceal his last name out of fear of retaliation. “And I waved all day.”

He was told he’d get $10 an hour from Accurate Event Group to help manage parking.

Until recently, Richard was homeless. He hoped the job would allow him to buy some clothes.

A Jacksonville nonprofit called American Recovery Corporation connected him and six other workers with the job.

“I can’t afford to go out like a normal guy, and go out and buy no clothes. So I figured if I went out on a limb, and helped, and got in, and did an honest day’s work, I’d get an honest day’s pay. That didn’t happen,” said Richard.

Months went by and Accurate Event Group didn’t pay up.

In an email to American Recovery Corporation from two weeks ago, Accurate Event Group’s chief financial officer Elliot Rosenblatt said, “Please accept my apologies for the delay in payment.”

Seventeen hours after Action News Jax sent Accurate Event Group an email asking why American Recovery Corporation had not been paid, Rosenblatt sent the nonprofit an email saying a $4,555 check went out in the mail Tuesday.

“It’s a shame that it took a call from y’all to get that kind of response, because they should have paid that a long time ago,” said Baxter.

Action News Jax asked an IKEA spokesperson whether the company is still working with Accurate Event Group. That spokesperson said IKEA is investigating the issue.