A Georgia employer has created more than just social media buzz with its chosen method of paying an employee’s final paycheck. The employee, Andreas Flaten, resigned his position at A OK Walker Autoworks in November of 2021. The shop owed Flaten $915 in final wages, but after having difficulty collecting his final paycheck, Flaten contacted the Department of Labor to make a complaint. The department representative contacted A Ok Walker Autoworks’ owner, Miles Walker, and Walker indicated he had no intention of paying Flaten’s final wages.
Apparently, Walker had a change of heart because hours after learning about Flaten’s complaint, Walker decided to pay Flaten’s final paycheck of $915 in pennies. According to the complaint, Walker said, “How can you make this guy realize what a disgusting example of a human being he is …. [Y]ou know what? I’ve got plenty of pennies; I’ll use them.” On March 12, 2021, he did just that and the company delivered 91,500 oil-drenched pennies to Flaten’s home, dumping them on his driveway, along with an expletive written on the pay stub. Not only was Flaten required to clean the oil stain off his driveway, but to cash in the pennies, he had to spend several hours cleaning away the oil. Walker also took to its website to post defamatory comments about Flaten.
Walker’s actions prompted the department’s Wage and Hour Division to conduct a broader audit of the shop’s wage and hour practices. It determined that the shop failed to pay overtime wages to its nonexempt employees and did not keep proper records of employee’s hours worked and pay rates. The department has filed a lawsuit against the shop alleging violations of the retaliation, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA. The suit seeks $36,971 in back wages and liquidated damages. For reference, that’s 3,697,100 pennies.
Bottom Line
Employers should be aware that an employee’s complaint to a federal or state agency can put the spotlight on the company’s other employment practices. And though paying a paycheck in pennies is not per se illegal (pennies are legal tender after all) it can give rise to allegations of retaliation depending on the employer’s motive. Better to save the antics and pay employees as is custom, and pursuant to the timelines set forth by state or federal law.