Woman’s latest closed business upsets some
Salon employees, gift-card buyers are left hanging

A Salem businesswoman who is filing for personal bankruptcy has closed several area businesses in the past few years, affecting dozens of people.

It is not known whether Cathryn Thiessen will file for bankruptcy for her businesses. Closed businesses with nearly no assets are unlikely to file for bankruptcy, said Thiessen’s attorney, Marc Gunn of Salem.

Thiessen, who also foreclosed on her Salem home, is expected to file for personal bankruptcy within 30 days, Gunn said.

Thiessen’s Keizer business, Radiance Salon & Spa, closed this week. Radiance had at least 10 employees.

Thiessen had few employees at her other failed businesses, which included two florist shops and a Women, Infants and Children store, Gunn said. Those three Salem-area businesses shuttered several months ago.

She is suspected to have failed to make payroll tax payments and failed to provide final two weeks of pay to some Radiance employees, Gunn said. Some customers are out money as well.

All people who bought a Radiance gift card will not be able to redeem it. However, a couple area salons have offered to give some credit or services to gift card holders: Bella Vita Salon & Day Spa in Salem and Spa Willamina in Portland.

The attorney general’s office also has posted a notice on the door of the salon telling people who bought Radiance gift cards how to file a complaint.

Keizer resident Lori Davis’ daughters bought her and her husband a $180 gift card. Davis and her family are not too upset about the money loss.

“There’s people that are probably hurting worse than we are,” she said.

Four former Radiance employees said the owner was taking Social Security taxes from their paychecks, but not making the payroll tax payments to the federal government.

It is highly likely that what employees are saying is true, though the case is still in its early stages, Gunn said, adding that he has not officially verified the status of Thiessen’s payroll tax payments.

“For almost all businesses that end up in this stage, payroll taxes are just par for the course — 98 percent of the time the payroll taxes aren’t being paid,” Gunn said.

Rachel Martinmaas worked at the salon from March 2006 to August 2008.

“I have not had any income reported to the Social Security Department since 2006,” said Martinmaas, a former salon coordinator.

The government will pay the Social Security and Medicare the employee was supposed to pay in cases such as this, Gunn said. The employer then would owe the government money.

“Employees are not going to suffer just because an employer could not pay taxes,” he said.

Former Radiance stylist Tara McMullin said she did not receive her last two weeks of pay when the salon closed.

“I’m just really disappointed and let down,” McMullin said.

Employees were given the option to receive their final two weeks of pay in salon supplies and equipment, Gunn said. Workers who declined may be able to make a claim for their last two weeks of pay in bankruptcy court.

Former Radiance employees who wish to receive unemployment may file with the state government, he said.

McMullin also is upset because she and other stylists did not receive the names of their clients in the salon database. So, many stylists have posted their contact information at their new jobs on the doors and windows of the empty business.

“I loved the girls I worked with and the clients I had,” said McMullin, who now works at Bella Vita.

Thiessen likely will not be incarcerated for tax evasion as the government is aware of her situation, Gunn said. Tax evasion is not when someone does not pay but when someone intentionally hides nonpayment from the government.

“She’s very sorry this happened,” Gunn said. “This is certainly not what she wanted. This is tough times for everybody.”

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