A rather unusual story emerged concerning Andreas Flaten, a former manager at A-OK Walker Luxury Autoworks, who was given his last paycheck in pennies covered in grease — 91,500 of them to be exact.
A-OK Walker Luxury Autoworks is an automotive repair shop that is based in Peachtree City, GA. They are famously known as a team that attempted to break the world record for land speed and built the Mustangs featured in the Clint Eastwood film ‘Trouble With The Curve.’
However, their time in the spotlight is a result of paying off Flaten, who had worked there until last November, $915 in pennies. “It would be one thing if it was just pennies, I wish it was just pennies,” Flatten told the New York Times, suspecting that the greasy substance it was covered in might be steering fluid.
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Flaten had reported that the dispute between himself and his workplace was due to a lack of sensitivity from his former employer. It was centered around his need to pick up his child from daycare at a time that had been agreed upon when he accepted the employment offer. This agreement had become even more unsteady when Flaten was forced to leave early as the child-care facility closed sooner than usual to follow safety regulations imposed to fight the ongoing pandemic. He reported that a series of unfavorable events at his workplace forced him to give in his resignation late last year, with his final week’s wages unsettled months later. The former employee had filed a claim with the U.S Department of Labor, who confirmed that they had contacted the auto shop three times regarding the payment.
A video recorded by Flaten’s doorbell camera on the 12th of March shows a young man with long wavy hair telling him that his money was at the end of the driveway. Flaten, who had tried to leave his driveway, was blocked by a large pile of copper coins smothered in a foul-smelling substance along with an envelope of his pay stub, but no check. The former employee and his girlfriend spent hours transporting over 500 lbs of pennies into their house, documenting it on social media and capturing the attention of many.
Miles Walker, the auto shop owner, claims to have no recollection of dropping the pennies at his former employee’s driveway and refused to comment on the incident. “It doesn’t matter – he got paid, that’s all that matters,” he told CBS 46 News.