Feds go after disgruntled boss after employee’s not-so-slick compensation

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday that it has filed a lawsuit against a Georgia auto repair shop owner who paid former worker final wages in oily pennies, claiming the move amounted to retaliation and more.

According to the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Peachtree City, Georgia-based Autoworks LLC and its owner Miles Walker, an employee who resigned filed a complaint with the DOL regarding the employer’s failure to submit his last paycheck, prompting an investigation.

Upon his discovery that he had been reported to the DOL, Mr. Walker allegedly paid the former employee’s final wages of $915 by delivering about 91,500 oil-covered pennies and a pay stub marked with an expletive to the worker’s home — blocking and staining his driveway and requiring nearly seven hours for him to remove. He also published defamatory statements about the former employee on the company’s website.

In addition to retaliation, the DOL determined that Mr. Walker violated overtime provisions and failed to keep adequate and accurate records of employees’ pay rates and work hours.