Workers at Closed Waterpark/Hotel Denied Unemployment

(Cedar Rapids, IA) – The now-shuttered Wasserbahn indoor waterpark and hotel is now refusing to provide unemployment benefits, so say the resort’s former employees. KCRG/TV reports some workers applied for state unemployment benefits after the Williamsburg resort suddenly closed on March first, but they were sent denial letters. One former worker says she was denied because the state says the “employer’s business did not permanently close” – but was sold to a new owner. Ex-employees also say they haven’t received their final paychecks. Wasserbahn first opened for business in 2003 and was shut down by the state in 2013 for water quality issues. It reopened in 2014 under new ownership and was eventually sold to its most recent owner, businessman Thomas Smock.