Paid in Pennies

[wilnj]

Evidently this is a year old already, I don’t recall it being discussed here before but it’s come up again now that the Feds are involved.

https://jalopnik.com/feds-are-suing-an-auto-shop-for-paying-an-employees-fin-1848321704

Seems to me this is pretty childish behavior from a business owner regardless of how bad the employee was.

[GH85Carrera]

I remember long ago some guy was trying to pay his alimony with pennies, and the courts said the pennies are not legal tender in amounts over a dollar or something. Point being, no way is that leaal payment. And the jerk covered the pennies in oil.

The Dept. of Labor is involved because, rightly so, a paycheck is something the government wants done properly. They want the government share of taxes taken out, and the money available for the employee with no delays.

That jerk boss needs a lot of bad publicity.

[flatbutt]

Now we know one cause of the penny shortage.

[masraum]

I remember this coming up before. I can't imagine working for someone like that. Whether the employee was "subpar" or not.

I'm trying to figure out how the govt is suing the guy for paying an employee in cash.

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by masraum

I remember this coming up before. I can't imagine working for someone like that. Whether the employee was "subpar" or not.

I'm trying to figure out how the govt is suing the guy for paying an employee in cash.

From other articles I read it is considered retaliatory because the payment was only made after he filed a DOL complaint.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I remember long ago some guy was trying to pay his alimony with pennies, and the courts said the pennies are not legal tender in amounts over a dollar or something. Point being, no way is that leaal payment. And the jerk covered the pennies in oil.

The Dept. of Labor is involved because, rightly so, a paycheck is something the government wants done properly. They want the government share of taxes taken out, and the money available for the employee with no delays.

That jerk boss needs a lot of bad publicity.

I think the Dept of Labor was involved because the guy was refusing to pay. The Dept of Labor said "you've gotta pay him."

According to the article, the guy asked if the guy could be paid in any denomination and they said "whatever, just pay him." Also, the boss paid the guy extra according to money changers charging a fee to convert coins to cash. And a pay stub was included.

I would think that the boss could be charged for putting the oil on them, maybe EPA or something, since he dumped the coins on the guys lawn or driveway.

Per the article, the boss is also under investigation for refusing to pay OT.

[sc_rufctr]

How long did it take the employer to collect and count those pennies?

He must have lots of time on his hands.

[Geronimo '74]

you can weigh them.

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by masraum

Per the article, the boss is also under investigation for refusing to pay OT.

I know a couple guys that work flat rate and do very well by it.

If I understand it correctly, the total jobs for the day add up to 10 hours, you get paid 10 hours even if you did the jobs in 7. With the computer diagnostics nowadays, there can appear to be a lot of downtime. My one buddy talks all the time about how he fills that downtime with prepping for the most likely causes of whatever the issue might be, removing engine covers for example or goes to get another car to plug that one in.

Some of his coworkers use that downtime to check their social media.

I’m guessing the ones who can’t make flat rate work and still cover their hours are not very good at their jobs.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by Geronimo '74

you can weigh them.

Yes of course but just getting that many pennies would have been bad enough.

- The point I was trying to make is that anyone who would do something like this is an idiot.

[stomachmonkey]

It's retaliatory due to the difficulty in converting all those pennies to cash.

Boss paid pennies because he knew it would be a hassle.

It was intentionally punitive.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Yes of course but just getting that many pennies would have been bad enough.

- The point I was trying to make is that anyone who would do something like this is an idiot.

Yep, the boss is a major twat. It cost him a ton of time and money to be that childish. Imagine how much of a pain in the azz it was to gather 100,000 pennies. I don't think you go to a bank and say "give me $1000 in pennies." I think most banks would tell you where to stick your pennies.

[T77911S]

I wonder if there was proof as in some kind of receipt for the payment. if not, if I was the employee I would say I never got paid. make the guy pay him again.

[asphaltgambler]

Reminds me of almost every auto repair related place / gig I ever worked. I could take 6 months off if I was paid every dollar that I earned starting as a kid that I was cheated out of.

In 1979, I graduated high school and continued to work at the local John Deere as a mechanic but now full time. By the end of that Summer, I asked for a raise, based on my attendance, ability, etc. Also, I wanted to attend JD 'College' as they had a huge technical and administrative program that you could take part in.

The service manager poo-poohed me, brushed it off. So I quit and went to work full time for a buddy's father in-law driving dump trucks and working on them in down-times. I made 3 times per hour more but the gig started spiral out with not much work as Christmas approached. In January i quit and went to work at another joint and I received a 1099 from said company when they had indeed with-held some taxes. I called the partner and asked why was I getting a 1099, I was a full time employee, he said" no ....no you weren't, you were a contractor"

I said well, you either send me a revised W2 earnings statement showing I was an employee with the taxes you withheld, or my next call is to Va state labor board to see what they have to say about it. I gave him 1 week to have that in the mail, which he did. POS, all of 'em.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

Reminds me of almost every auto repair related place / gig I ever worked. I could take 6 months off if I was paid every dollar that I earned starting as a kid that I was cheated out of.

In 1979, I graduated high school and continued to work at the local John Deere as a mechanic but now full time. By the end of that Summer, I asked for a raise, based on my attendance, ability, etc. Also, I wanted to attend JD 'College' as they had a huge technical and administrative program that you could take part in.

The service manager poo-poohed me, brushed it off. So I quit and went to work full time for a buddy's father in-law driving dump trucks and working on them in down-times. I made 3 times per hour more but the gig started spiral out with not much work as Christmas approached. In January i quit and went to work at another joint and I received a 1099 from said company when they had indeed with-held some taxes. I called the partner and asked why was I getting a 1099, I was a full time employee, he said" no ....no you weren't, you were a contractor"

I said well, you either send me a revised W2 earnings statement showing I was an employee with the taxes you withheld, or my next call is to Va state labor board to see what they have to say about it. I gave him 1 week to have that in the mail, which he did. POS, all of 'em.

Many/most places will take advantage of kids if they can get away with it (which they probably do 99% of the time).

[fastfredracing]

I paid my employees every week no matter what . There were times , when I had to borrow money to make payroll, and payroll taxes
I never did flat rate, and never would . I worked flat rate for one year, and decided that is no way to make a living killing yourself and sucking ass to some nitwit service advisor to get the good jobs. I quit my job at the VW dealer, and went back to college, but somehow ended up starting up my shop that same year .
I made sure , that if my guys wanted 40 hours a week, they got paid for 40 hours .

[pwd72s]

Old, but true story. Paul Newman got coaching from Willie Mosconi before filming for "The Hustler" began. He'd practiced for months. Actually became a decent amateur player...easily seen by his stroke, he did make it look real.

Jackie Gleason really was a hustler in real life. Came to the set already a darned good player capable of running 50-60 balls in straight pool. Very respectable.

Feeling cocky, Newman challenged Gleason to a game, $50 the bet. Gleason easily won.

Newman paid off in pennies. Gleason kept them displayed in a jar at his home. He loved telling how he got so many pennies.