Ex-employees at the Rush Bar and Lounge, a gay bar that launched in Washington, D.C. earlier this month, are having a big tiff with their boss after they said he did not pay them.
Workers told WUSA9 they have gone unpaid since mid-December. Owner Jackson Mosley said several employees got sacked, but, HELLO, as he put it, District law gives him 30 days to distribute final paychecks. But city officials are telling Mosley to talk to the hand because, as far as they’re concerned, what Mosely said is not true. Cake Pop certainly isn’t happy. Otherwise known as John Marsh, Cake Pop said Rush hired him in a salaried position to not only do drag but to market the establishment. Management promised paychecks Dec. 15, he said, but — tickle Neil Patrick Harris gay and call him Ricky Martin — no deposits arrived.
“Dec. 15 comes, no one receives any kind of direct deposit or anything,” Marsh told WUSA9. “Understandably, people start freaking out.”
Marsh said employees expected money that day. Management axed some workers after they rattled their beads about missing wages. Mosley told WUSA9 that a problem tied to the bar’s federal employer identification number delayed payroll. He later said he couldn’t pay some former employees right now.
Drama at DC’s newest gay bar Rush https://t.co/S4EuFkkNfP
— Spencer Allan Brooks (@SpencerSays) December 27, 2025
But, queen, listen to this. Mosley said he fired workers for what he described as gross misconduct and insisted he has one full pay period—up to 30 days—to issue final checks. District law requires employers to pay all earned wages to a terminated employee no later than the next working day after discharge, regardless of whether the worker is salaried or hourly.
Marsh said managers asked him to take on duties outside his role as opening day approached, including helping ready the space while construction workers put it all together.
“I ended up project-managing a lot of things—getting contractors in, programming the register system,” he said.
Labor officials told WUSA9 that job duties or attitudes do not change when wages are due.
Mosley told WUSA9 some former employees remain unpaid but insisted current staff have received wages. Marsh said he has never received any pay and has not been formally terminated.
In a phone call with WUSA9, Mosley said he would “prioritize those that are loyal to the organization,” adding that Marsh had “dropped down on the priority list.” Marsh said other workers fear retaliation if they speak out. Mosley said he is not “sitting on a pile of cash” and would pay former employees if he could. Marsh said he is owed thousands of dollars and remains unsure when payment will come.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Flickr/ Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)
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