The chief executive of a Seattle company, who several years ago said he would cut his own salary to give his employees a raise, resigned this week amid charges of assault and reckless driving that were brought against him.

Dan Price, the founder and now former CEO of payment processing company Gravity Payments, garnered attention in 2015 when he told his more than 100 employees that everyone at the company was going to make at least $70,000. He also said he was cutting his own salary from $1.1 million to $70,000.

Some employees’ salaries would have more than doubled from the move. A video of the announcement went viral at the time and yielded a positive reaction from company customers. On its website, the company said employee turnover declined after it raised the minimum pay.

Mr. Price, in a note to employees posted on Twitter Wednesday, said his presence had become a distraction at the company. “I also need to step aside from these duties to focus full time on fighting false accusations made against me,” he wrote.

Tammi Kroll, the company’s operating chief, has been named CEO, Mr. Price said.

Mr. Price’s departure comes several months after he was charged with assault and reckless driving. A woman filed a police report in January after meeting with Mr. Price at a Seattle restaurant. The woman alleged in the report that Mr. Price tried to kiss her multiple times in his car and then grabbed her throat when she rejected his advances.

Mr. Price also allegedly did donuts in...

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