An auto repair business owner who paid a former employee’s final paycheck in $915 worth of oily pennies now faces a federal lawsuit.
Andreas Flaten filed a complaint in January of 2021 after receiving more than 91,000 oil-soaked coins. A OK Walker Autoworks owner Miles Walker initially refused to pay Flaten but gave in after receiving a call from the Department of Labor. That’s when he dropped off the change, along with an offensive note stating, “f*ck you!”
Flaten said that the greasy pennies took him and his girlfriend more than seven hours to clean up. The oil-soaked pennies left his driveway covered in stains.
But Walker wasn’t finished. He then posted a derogatory statement about Flaten on the shop’s website.
“Unfortunately, by law, we cannot disclose his short comings,” it read. “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 statement was recently removed from the website.
The Peachtree City business now faces a lawsuit alleging unlawful retaliation against Flaten. In addition, the company is facing allegations that it failed to pay its employees at the legally-mandated overtime rate if they worked more than 40 hours per week.
The Department of Labor said in a press release it is “seeking $36,971 in back wages and liquidated damages.”
Flaten told HuffPost via email that he had not contacted his former employer at all and was “pleasantly surprised” that the Labor Department was taking action.
“At first, I didn’t think I would ever see my final pay. Then the oily pennies were dumped and honestly thought he would be able to pull a stunt like that and get away with that,” Flaten told the outlet. “So I’m very glad to see the DOL stepped up because no one deserves to be treated like that, especially when they were leaving to better themselves and tried to leave the right way.”
Now, Flaten is encouraging others to reach out to the Labor Department “if they have concerns about their pay and treatment.”
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