It is amazing to see the Georgian company react to the issue.
The Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against an auto shop located in Georgia. Miles Walker owned A OK Walker Autoworks. He allegedly failed pay Andreas Flaten, an ex-employee, his final $915 paycheck.
You could have simply written a check to solve the problem, but Walker chose to do something a little different: Pay Flaten with over 91,000 pennies according to a report from Business Insider.
According to the complaint Flaten made contact with the Wage and Hours Division of US Department of Labor in January to report that his last paycheck had not been paid by his employer. Walker initially refused to pay Flaten, but he later agreed. However, it was an interesting decision.
The complaint:
How do you make him realize how disgusting a person he is ….? You know what? I have plenty of pennies, I’ll use them.
True to form, Walker left Flaten approximately 91.500 pennies on his driveway on March 12, 2021. According to the complaint, there was also a paycheck left over with the pennies. However, it did not contain expletives.
The Department of Labor was prompted to investigate the books of the employer and brought up the lawsuit. Walker claims that Walker’s company “repeatedly” and “willfully” failed pay overtime time and a half. The company relied only on a flat rate, regardless of how many hours were worked per week.
Walker won’t give up and quit fighting. posted a statement on his company’s site to share his perspective.
These are the details of what actually happened. There are many lies that the ex-employee, his girlfriend and the media have told.
#1 He was approved by the U.S. Department of Labor! We specifically asked if he could be paid in cash in any denomination. The U.S. Department of Labor stated that they didn’t care about how much he was paid. They just wanted to pay him.
#2 No laws were broken. Before the meeting, two law enforcement professionals were present. A civil and criminal attorney were also consulted.
#3 He had exactly 100,003 pennies and 750 dimes. There was also 2 quarters and a nickel in the pile. This is more than we were legally required to give him. Why is that so? We thought he would be intelligent enough to exchange pennies and have them counted. 10% was the most expensive price we could find for change processors. We wanted to ensure he received every cent he asked for!
#4 The entire event was recorded from beginning to end! It’s all there!
#5 This was done in daylight hours. We reached his house at 6:30 pm and talked to him face-to-face to confirm that we had his money. He said that the money would be placed at his driveway’s top. He agreed!
#6 A OK Walker does not put grease on pennies. We believe the ex-employe and his girlfriend did this to make it more explosive. It seems that the keyboard warriors ate it all. Sad! They proved that they were ignorant. It’s true if it’s on the internet, didn’t you know?
#7 Pennies are money! They are backed by the United States federal government and can be used for any debt, public or private. EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW! Ask Coin-star for proof. They bought them to make a profit!
The rant went on, but this time with a different issue.
The company has received numerous backlashes from different sources. Walker claims that his company has been subject to “80+ death threats”, thousands of aggressive phone calls, thousands of disturbing emails, thousands of false reviews, and gag gifts .
Flaten has a message for workers in similar situations to what he is in now.
He told Business Insider that they should not be afraid to reach out. “Speak up. It’s not okay to be silent about it. It’s going to happen again and again if you keep quiet.