The proprietor of a Peachtree City, Georgia, auto restore store who paid a former worker’s ultimate wages with 91,500 oil-soaked pennies has been ordered to pay almost $40,000 extra to 9 of his employees.

Miles Walker, proprietor of A OK Walker Luxury Autoworks, was ordered to pay $39,934 by Judge Timothy Batten of the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Georgia.

The fee covers equal quantities of again pay and liquidated damages owed for time beyond regulation violations and for the retaliation towards former A OK worker Andreas Flaten.

After Mr. Walker had didn't pay Mr. Flaten his ultimate paycheck of $915, Mr. Flaten contacted the Department of Labor’s Wages and Hours Division. Mr. Walker then hauled a wheelbarrow of 91,500 oily pennies to Mr. Flaten’s residence, full with an expletive-marked paystub.

Mr. Walker additionally wrote on the store’s web site by March 25, 2021, that “yes we accept pennies as payment! They are cash you nitwits!,” which was dominated to be retaliatory harassment of Mr. Flaten.

The message was later modified to take away “nitwits,” and to inform individuals {that a} 10% processing charge utilized to funds made in pennies. The revised message was up as of March 26, however was ordered taken off the web site by Judge Batten’s order.

Judge Batten additionally ordered Mr. Walker to take away all pictures of Mr. Flaten and every other defamatory references to him from the web site, and to conspicuously show the court docket order contained in the Peachtree City store in areas the place notices for workers are usually put up.

In phrases of time beyond regulation, Department of Labor investigators discovered that Mr. Walker was paying workers the straight hourly price all the time labored, together with these hours surpassing a 40-hour workweek.

“I’m happy that justice was served. I firmly believe in karma now. … But besides that I’m just happy that everyone else who had to work for this guy got some fair compensation,” Mr. Flaten instructed WANF-TV.

Mr. Flaten obtained $8,690.54 in damages and again pay for work achieved on the store from Jan. 12 to Nov. 22, 2020. He was not the worker that obtained essentially the most cash, nevertheless — Richard Goldschrafe was reimbursed $14,640.64 for a interval between April 21, 2019, and Dec. 6, 2020.

“The court has sent a clear message to employers such as Miles Walker who subject employees to unfair wage practices and outright intimidation and retaliation,” Tremelle Howard, the Labor Department’s regional solicitor for Atlanta, stated in an announcement.

Mr. Walker’s attorneys, in the meantime, say that the judgment doesn't mirror his true character as an employer or businessman.

“Mr. Walker is like many other small business owners in America — he wakes up every day doing everything he can to put food on the table. Unfortunately, emotionally charged decisions can come back and bite you in the rear end,” lawyer Ryan Farmer, who represented Mr. Walker, instructed the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com