A Georgia auto shop owner who paid a former employee with 91,500 oily pennies has been ordered by a federal judge to pay nearly $40,000 more to nine workers for unpaid overtime and damages.
Miles Walker, who owns A OK Walker Autoworks in Peachtree City, Georgia, made headlines in March when he dumped a wheelbarrow full of pennies covered in motor oil at the driveway of Andreas Flaten, who quit his job at the shop in November 2020.
Flaten said he had trouble cashing in the pennies, which weighed more than 500 pounds, and had to spend hours cleaning them with a pressure washer and vinegar. He also said Walker owed him $915 in unpaid wages.
Walker denied that he paid Flaten in pennies and claimed he did not owe him any money. He also said he was upset that Flaten damaged a customer’s car and posted negative comments about his business online.
However, a federal judge ruled on June 20 that Walker violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay overtime wages to Flaten and eight other employees between September 2019 and November 2020.
The judge ordered Walker to pay $34,056 in back wages and liquidated damages to the nine workers, as well as $5,878 in civil penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“This case demonstrates how the U.S. Department of Labor will take all steps necessary – including litigation – to ensure workers receive every penny they have rightfully earned,” said Eric Williams, district director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Atlanta.
