Kansas lawmaker’s ex-husband alleges family business withheld wages

A south-central Kansas lawmaker faces a lawsuit from her ex-husband, who alleges that he is owed more than $60,000 in unpaid wages from a family business.

Scott Margolius filed a lawsuit in Cowley County in November against his ex-wife, Rep. Kasha Kelley, R-Arkansas City, and her mother, Diana Williams, claiming that their retail consulting business, First Intermark Corp., withheld wages from him in order to make up for lost business.

The lawsuit, first reported by the Arkansas City Traveler last week, alleges that Kelley and her mother confiscated checks written out to Margolius before he left the business in October 2014 and that he is still owed $60,119 in unpaid wages from the business.

Margolius’ complaint says that these wages were reported to the IRS and that Margolius had to pay taxes on them. It alleges that the business violated state and federal minimum wage laws.

Kelley would not comment on the lawsuit Monday. Her attorney, Eric Carter, called Margolius’ claims spurious.

“I think the thing to keep in mind is that this is not simply an employment law case but rather a post-divorce issue that preferably would’ve been handled within the divorce case,” Carter said. “And obviously, sometimes in a divorce that can be an emotional thing and a lot of times people aren’t ready to move on. And so we’re going to defend this case. I imagine that it will be resolved in the ordinary portion.”

Margolius is seeking more than $150,000 in damages. His attorney, Ryan Peck, would not comment.

First Intermark responded with counterclaims in February, alleging that Margolius, the company’s vice president, used company resources to operate a separate business without permission and diverted resources to himself. First Intermark accuses him of being in breach of his fiduciary duties and seeks $225,000 in damages.

This story was originally published April 4, 2016 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Kansas lawmaker’s ex-husband alleges family business withheld wages."