Worker and boss get in argument. Worker quits. Boss won’t give him last paycheck for hours he put in.

It gets messier from there.

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There are difficult bosses. Then there are bosses who dump over 500 pounds of greasy pennies onto an ex-employee's driveway… The unwanted delivery also came with a note expressing a short expletive.

…[the worker] quit his job…after an argument with his boss and contacted the Labor Department last January to say he was owed $915. The next day, Walker received a call from the department, and said he would not pay Flaten. Hours later, he decided to pay him in pennies.

And then he bragged about it on the businesses website. Take that, US Dept of Labor!

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The Labor Department is seeking $36,971 in back wages and damages on behalf of multiple employees including Flaten. An investigation found Walker and the shop engaged in retaliation and broke overtime laws by only paying employees a flat weekly rate. The lawsuit also alleges the autoshop failed to keep accurate wage records.

Says the boss: “ He's a f***** weenie for even bringing it up.” Wow. I guess he showed them!

Not just pennies, but oil covered pennies, dumped onto his driveway.
This was not in Florida, but here in GA, just south of Atlanta. I guess being this close to FL is like sitting next to a Covid positive anti-vax relative at a bar, you are going to get what they have.

[www.fox5atlanta.com]

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

And ... coins are not legal tender. The "recipient" has no obligation to accept coins for payment.

Makes you wonder though, what kind of person keeps 500lbs of pennies? You can't even get that much from large bank branches without an appointment.

If he is an LLC expect him to declare bankruptcy, sell off the assets to a family member, establish a new LLC, buy back the assets and continue onward.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Decekda,

That would be incorrect. The coins are legal tender:

[www.treasury.gov]

However, the recipient doesn't necessarily have to accept them. Still, a payment in coins is a legal payment whether or not the recipient accepts it. If there is an issue, the person paying in coins can say, "Hey, I paid him. Here is the proof. He chose not to accept the payment."

Robert

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Robert M
Decekda,

That would be incorrect. The coins are legal tender:

[www.treasury.gov]

However, the recipient doesn't necessarily have to accept them. Still, a payment in coins is a legal payment whether or not the recipient accepts it. If there is an issue, the person paying in coins can say, "Hey, I paid him. Here is the proof. He chose not to accept the payment."

Robert

There are many court cases that say otherwise. You can offer payment in excessive amounts of coins, but until accepted the person is not considered paid.

On another note, that boss has also opened himself up to pollution charges.

Joe,

Kinda conflicts with what the government says about legal tender, though. Can't say i agree with the idea that a payment provided but not accepted equates payment not provided. If I give someone legal tender as payment, the payment is done. Doesn't matter to me if the person doesn't like the form of it. If the tender is legal, it should be considered acceptable even if it's inconvenient, disgusting, etc. If the person chooses not to deposit it, use it or return, that's on the person, not me.

Robert

My mom loves to tell the story about a neighbor back in ~1968 or so bought a lawnmower from Sears on credit. The thing died very quickly and sears didn't offer a refund or replacement. Honestly, I don't remember any of the details, but the woman would go every month to some Sears office and pay the monthly bill by counting out pennies one at a time and did so until the debt was paid. Apparently, she got a great deal of satisfaction from this...

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Robert M
Joe,

Kinda conflicts with what the government says about legal tender, though. Can't say i agree with the idea that a payment provided but not accepted equates payment not provided. If I give someone legal tender as payment, the payment is done. Doesn't matter to me if the person doesn't like the form of it. If the tender is legal, it should be considered acceptable even if it's inconvenient, disgusting, etc. If the person chooses not to deposit it, use it or return, that's on the person, not me.

Robert

I suggest you go back and read that web page closely. It specifically states while legal tender that places no obligation on an individual or an organization to accept it. I will quote the section where it states that:

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This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

So I see no conflict at all. Do also note the distinction between payment of debts versus paying for goods or services

Beyond that you start getting to the area of the legal definitions of offer and acceptance as related to completing transactions. You can offer me 100 pounds of coins as payment for something, but until I accept that the transaction is not complete. There are also federal and state laws and regulations on what is acceptable for paying wages.

Basically if you tried doing what you state, good luck in court as you will probably lose.

Joe,

Oh, I understood everything you and the federal web site said and know full well the legalities of it all. Doesn’t mean I have to like or agree with all of the specifics. If someone truly deserved that kind of treatment, I can imagine that an employer might consider it worth going through the agita of it.

Robert



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2022 05:04PM by Robert M.

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hal
My mom loves to tell the story about a neighbor back in ~1968 or so bought a lawnmower from Sears on credit. The thing died very quickly and sears didn't offer a refund or replacement. Honestly, I don't remember any of the details, but the woman would go every month to some Sears office and pay the monthly bill by counting out pennies one at a time and did so until the debt was paid. Apparently, she got a great deal of satisfaction from this...

And successfully cut off her nose to spite her face.

FYI:

[www.treasury.gov]

The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

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Robert: Lotsa court cases say, using your terms, that payment is NOT provided until it's accepted.

You may not like that, that's what the courts have held.

Note that the term "tender" is a synonym for "offer." It is not a synonym for "payment." It's all about contract law.

One can argue that the employee did accept the payment by transferring it to Coinstar for conversion, however, that does not resolve the issue of whether the mechanics of the payment constituted illegal retaliation.

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Janit

One can argue that the employee did accept the payment by transferring it to Coinstar for conversion….

Yikes! It was in his driveway! Was he supposed to just ignore it and drive around it indefinitely?

I believe there was a case a few decades ago where somebody tried to pay their taxes to the IRS In pennies. The courts held that the IRS did not have to accept the pennies.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.