Back in 2021, we brought you the story of a Georgia man who received an odd parting shot from his boss when he quit.
Andreas Flaten, a former worker at A OK Walker Autoworks in Peachtree City, says he struggled to get his hands on his last check before his ex-boss, Miles Walker, made good on those wages owed by reportedly dropping off nearly $1,000 worth of oil-covered pennies at Flaten’s home.
As news of the incident spread, A OK Walker Autoworks experienced business backlash and came under the scrutiny of the US Department of Labor.
And while the pennies weren’t the subject of the subsequent civil action, Miles Walker and A OK Luxury Autoworks faced other scrutiny pertaining to how they’d treated employees.
According to Atlanta News First, Walker actually owes Flaten and eight other former employees back wages.
The complaint refers to “protected activity” and lays out accusations against the company including unpaid overtime and threats against workers who filed complaints.
A consent judgment requires Walker and his business to pay Flaten and several others more than $19,000 in back wages as well as the same amount in “liquidated damages.”
With the decree, perhaps Flaten has gotten the last laugh but even so, he wasn’t stalled by those oily pennies. Atlanta News First says he didn’t clean more than a few hundred before Coinstar stepped in and helped take the project off his hands.
And while A OK and Walker have been barred from referencing Flaten in any way on its website or social media, he still has a memento to keep this odd memory alive: a single penny that he kept from his stash that now sits on his dresser as a reminder.
