Employer loses lawsuit after dumping pennies at employee’s house

Austin, TX – Employers can mistreat workers for a number of different reasons. In some situations, the mistreatment can rise to the level of harassment or retaliation if the person loses their job, cannot complete their normal job duties, or experiences other serious problems. An attorney can review the situation to determine if formal legal action is warranted.

Local news for the Austin area reported on a situation where a car repair employee was paid his final wages from his former job by his boss in the form of thousands of pennies covered in motor oil [1].

Worker is paid in toxic pennies

The man who eventually paid the worker in all pennies had previously refused to issue the final wages to the employee following his resignation. The final payload was dumped in front of the employee’s home with a note that contained foul language, and the worker had to do extensive cleaning to get the oil out of his driveway area. The government sided with the worker based on various pieces of evidence, including an admission from his former boss that he wanted to show the employee that he was a “disgusting human being.” The total estimate was that there were approximately 90,000 coins left at the man’s house.

A further investigation revealed that the employer in question also had significant issues with unpaid overtime, and that all of the company’s employees were owed a fairly large sum. The federal government claims that the business owes just over $35,000 in unpaid wages and other damages related to FLSA violations.

Rules about retaliation

Workers are generally protected from any kind of mistreatment or discipline from their employers for taking certain legitimate actions. This can include asking for time off or leave, requesting benefits that the company owes the person, reporting misconduct or sexual harassment, or exercising any other right that the workers is entitled to. Retaliation lawsuits tend to happen most often after a worker has reported others in the company for behaviors that are illegal and terminated, or if they needed time off for a legitimate injury or other problem and were disciplined or lost their job. Regardless of how the company or a worker’s boss feels about the person, they still can only terminate or discipline them for a neutral reason such as poor work performance or violations of company policy.

Employment lawyers in Texas

Moore and Associates is a labor law firm that handles various kinds of employment law issues in Austin and nearby areas. Their attorneys can provide additional advice about unpaid wages, overtime law, discrimination, and sexual harassment.

USAttorneys.com is available to help anyone who is looking for a lawyer in their area. Those who need a referral can call 800-672-3103 for assistance.

Firm contact info:

Moore & Associates

440 Louisiana Street, Suite 675, Houston, TX 77002

713-222-6775

www.mooreandassociates.net

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