Employer Dumps 91,000 Pennies On Ex-Worker's Driveway For His Final Wage

The owner of an auto repair shop in Georgia is being sued after he paid an ex-employee his final paycheck in the form of more than 90,000 pennies early last year, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is seeking $36,971 in back wages and liquidated damages from Miles Walker and his company, 811 Autoworks — operating as A OK Walker Autoworks in Peachtree City — as the shop owner allegedly violated the retaliation, overtime and recordkeeping prohibitions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the department said in a statement.

Walker retaliated against one of his former employees, Andreas Flaten, after the ex-worker told the DOL that he did not receive his final paycheck and was still owed $915, NBC News reported.

Flaten had quit his job at A OK following an argument with his boss, according to CNN.

Walker said he would not pay the dues when he received a call from the DOL, but he then decided to pay Flaten's paycheck in the form of pennies.

"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," said the DOL's lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on Dec. 30, 2021.

Flaten found $915 in the form of 91,500 oil-covered pennies in his driveway in March last year following the complaint, the DOL said.

"How can you make this guy realize what a disgusting example of a human being he is? I've got plenty of pennies; I'll use them," Walker was quoted as saying in the lawsuit.

Aside from the pennies, which blocked Flaten's driveway and took nearly seven hours to remove, Walker also left behind a pay stub marked with an expletive, the DOL said.

However, A OK Walker Autoworks claimed there were a total of 100,003 pennies, 750 dimes, 2 quarters, a nickel and Flaten's pay stub left on the ex-worker's driveway. The company also denied that the coins were covered in oil.

The DOL later determined that A OK Walker Autoworks failed to pay employees for overtime work since at least April 2019.

Additionally, the shop 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 are required by the DOL, the department said.

A page called "Pennies" later appeared on A OK Walker Autoworks' website following the incident.

"Ahh, the pennies. What started out as a gotcha to a subpar ex-employee, sure got a lot of press," said the page, which appears to have been removed.

"Unfortunately, by law, we cannot disclose his shortcomings. Let us just say that maybe he stole? Maybe he killed a dog? Maybe he killed a cat? Maybe he was lazy? Maybe he was a butcher? Maybe he liked self-gratifying himself in clients’ cars?" the page further claimed.

The "Pennies" page then claimed that A OK Walker Autoworks was allowed to pay Flaten in any denomination and that the former employee was paid more than what he was "legally obligated" to receive as the company wanted to include the cost to process the change.

"Pennies are cash! They are federally backed United States currency and are good for all debts public or private," A OK Walker Autoworks said.

A OK Walker Autoworks is currently accepting pennies as payment for services with a 10% processing fee, its website said.