Georgia man who paid former employee in 91,000 greasy pennies sued by feds
Fayetteville, Ga Jan 8 2022
In March 2021, a Fayetteville, Ga. man, Andreas Flaten, received his entire final paycheck of $915 in pennies — more than 91,000 of them — covered in grease and dumped in his driveway, along with a vulgar note from his former employer, according to various news outlets. But now that employer may be having regrets.
According to a report by Fox 5, while it may have made the Georgia auto repair shop owner feel better at the time, he may now be having regrets about his vindictive behavior. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a lawsuit against Miles Walker, who owns the repair shop, A OK Walker Autoworks in Peachtree City.
According to the complaint, Flaten contacted the Department of Labor in January 2021, after he had resigned from the auto shop, about not getting his final paycheck. The complaint says members of the DOL Wage and Hour Division contacted Walker about the accusation, at which time he informed the department he would not pay Flaten’s last paycheck, Fox 5 reported.
NBC News reported that the suit, filed Dec. 30 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that “A OK Walker Autoworks and its owner Miles Walker, discriminated against Andreas Flaten because he had called the Department of Labor to report not receiving his last paycheck.”
“Within hours of learning that Mr. Flaten had complained to [the Wage and Hour Division] about not receiving his last paycheck, defendants decided to pay Mr. Flaten in pennies,” the suit alleged.
NBC News reported that the Department of Labor also found that since at least April 2019, A OK Walker Autoworks had failed to pay employees for overtime work. The suit also alleges that A OK Walker Autoworks failed “to make, keep and preserve adequate and accurate records of the persons employed and of the wages, hours and other conditions and practices of employment maintained by them,” all of which is required by the Department of Labor.
Fox 5 reported that the lawsuit also said Walker had left “a note with an expletive on the pile of pennies,” and he also “posted defamatory things about Flaten on the auto shop’s website.”
Steven Salazar, the district director with the U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division said “Walker owes about $37,000 in back wages and liquidated damages. He’s also not keeping track of things required under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” Fox 5 cited.
According to a report by CBS 46, Flaten said he left the auto shop “because of a toxic working environment.” The news outlet quoted another former employee, Eric Melendez, describing Walker “ripping up people’s paychecks their last checks In front of their face.”
Walker, when asked by CBS 46 whether he had dropped 91,000 pennies at his former employee’s home, replied: “I don’t know if I did that or not, I don’t really remember.” He said what matters is that the man was paid and called him a “weenie” for bringing it up, according to CBS 46.
