diff --git a/manifests/config.pp b/manifests/config.pp
index 45c1f86d1..93699a935 100644
--- a/manifests/config.pp
+++ b/manifests/config.pp
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@
 ) inherits ::nginx::params {
 
   ### Validations ###
-  if (!is_string($worker_processes)) and (!is_integer($worker_processes)) {
+  if (!is_string($worker_processes) or ($worker_processes != 'auto')) and (!is_integer($worker_processes)) {
     fail('$worker_processes must be an integer or have value "auto".')
   }
   if (!is_integer($worker_connections)) {