Ex-worker paid in 91,000 pennies

In 2021 a former employee of A OK Walter Autoworks filed a complaint with state labor regulators accusing the owner and their former employer of not issuing his final paycheck of $916. 

Worker Andreas Flaten was in for an unwelcome surprise when his driveway was filled with a mountain of 91,000 pennies covered in oil. What owner Miles Walker didn't expect, happened next. The US Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against the Georgia-based auto repair shop owner claiming that the stunt was an act of retaliation. The complaint says that Walker decide to pay Flaten in pennies minutes after the latter contacted regulators regarding his missing paycheck. A worker under the Labor Department is protected by federal law. "Workers are entitled to receive information about their rights in the workplace and obtain the wages earned without the fear of harassment or intimidation." said a department official. 

The Department has also come to the conclusion that Walker had illegally deprived other workers at the shop of overtime pay as well as proper paperwork. A US District Court in Georgia has been asked to bar the defendant from future breach of the Fair Labor Standards Act and include retaliation and overtime violations. A comment posted on A OK Walter Autowork's website stated that the defendant had asked the Department if he could pay the employee "in cash of any denomination" and nothing specific was mentioned. They simply expected the employee to count and exchange the pennies. They even claimed that the total number of pennies was 100,003 pennies, 750 dimes, 2 quarters, and 1 nickel along with his pay stub in a pile which is more than what the employee was owed. 

Source: CBS News