Georgia Auto Dealer Who Paid Ex-Employee With 90,000 Oil-Covered Pennies Ordered To Pay $40,000

Running a successful business is hard. Especially now that unemployment is so low and a number of industries face a shortage of qualified workers. And when an employee quits unexpectedly, it can leave business owners in a tough position and could even lose them money if they’re short-staffed. But that’s just part of being a business owner, and you still have to pay people for their work. And no, paying them with an absurd number of oily pennies doesn’t count.

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At least that’s what ABC reports a Georgia court decided recently. Miles Walker, who owns A OK Walker Autoworks, was ordered to pay former employee Andreas Flaten nearly $40,000 — $19,967.09 in back wages and an additional $19,967.09 in liquidated damages. The US Department of Labor filed the lawsuit last year, claiming Walker retaliated against Flaten after he filed a complaint with the agency because he didn’t get his final paycheck.

Flaten reportedly quit his job after he and Walker had an argument. When Flaten didn’t get the money he was owed, he called the Labor Department. The next day Walker got a call telling him to pay Flaten his $915. He initially said he wasn’t going to do so, but a few hours later, he decided he would technically comply with the order and pay him in oil-covered pennies. He didn’t just pay Flaten in pennies, either. He dumped all 91,500 of them in Flaten’s driveway and left “a note expressing a short expletive.”

“How can you make this guy realize what a disgusting example of a human being he is,” Walker allegedly said. “I’ve got plenty of pennies; I’ll use them.”

Yes, technically, Walker did give Flaten his money, but thankfully, the court saw it as the retaliation that it was. Also, if you’re ever in Peachtree City, maybe don’t use AOK Walker Autoworks.