In a viral TikTok, a woman says that Delta Air Lines gave their employees fake money as a bonus “congratulating them, appreciating them for their hard work.”
In the video posted on Monday, user @highthai says: “Y’all the way I would fight. My mom, they have a bonus or whatever at her job and they gave them fake money. This is fake.”
In the clip, the TikToker zooms into the prop money of what seems like $50 and $100 bills, except the bills read: “Motion Picture Use.”
@highthai FAKE MONEY IN A PANARAMIC?!?! Nah you gon have to catch this fade after work #delta ♬ original sound – user5990693340044
As of Tuesday, the TikTok had over 416,000 views.
In a follow-up TikTok, @highthai explains that she was visiting home before going back to school, spotted the stack of cash on the dresser, and asked her mom what it was about. She says her mom works at Delta Air Lines and “the company made more money” and wanted to congratulate their employees for their hard work so “they handed the fake ass money because it’s for an office party to appreciate them, I guess so they can use it to win games or prizes.”
The TikToker says her mom can’t even attend the party because she’s working at the same time as the event. In the comments, people called the move by Delta “crazy.”
“WHAT?!?!? Excuse me?!?! I’m suing for emotional damage,” another TikToker commented.
“Their bonus would have been me shoving that money where it belongs,” another user commented.
“Delta has no shame,” another person wrote.
Other people said it was illegal to give out fake money to employees. While it’s not illegal to possess prop money, it is a felony offense or federal crime if you try to use it.
In the comments, @highthai said Delta did give a real bonus to employees and added the money to their paychecks. She claimed “they did [pay] already and only gave them 400 dollars.”
A Delta Air Lines spokesperson told the Daily Dot in an email that the fake prop money as a bonus “appears to be a one-off.” The spokesperson also said: “This is in the context of Delta’s global Employee Appreciation Day and special profit sharing payment. Delta employees received $1,250 paid via direct deposit yesterday and employees across the world at our hundreds of airport locations took a few minutes during the day to celebrate.”
It’s unclear if the TikToker’s mom received the full $1,250 at the time of writing.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @highthai via TikTok comment.
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