When a retired employee reported to the authorities that he had not received his salary, the employer who committed a ‘coin terrorism’ with resentment was accused by the U.S. Department of Labor.
According to foreign media such as the New York Times on the 9th local time, according to foreign media such as the New York Times, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Working Hours Bureau announced that on the 30th of last month, Miles Walker, the owner of ‘OK Walker Autoworks’, an auto repair company located in Peachtree City, Georgia, was subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). He filed a complaint with the Northern District Court for the State of Georgia.
27-year-old Andreas Platen, who worked at ‘Ok Walker Autoworks’, resigned in November 2020 following arguing with the company’s CEO, Walker, over the fact that the working hours were different from the contract.
After that, Mr. Platen reported the company to the Ministry of Labor in January last year when he did not receive his last month’s wage of $915 (regarding 1.1 million won) for several months before leaving the company.
According to the Labor Department’s complaint, Walker said, “How can I make him realize that[Platon]is a disgusting person?” There are a lot of them, so I will use this.”
In March of the same year, Walker poured 91,500 oil-soaked one-cent coins in front of Mr. Platen’s house, and placed an envelope with abusive pay stubs on a pile of coins.
The coin that Walker threw in front of Mr. Platen’s house weighed 500 pounds. Mr. Platen is said to have taken seven hours to sort these coins.
Walker’s atrocities became known through a video posted on social media by Mr. Platen’s girlfriend. At the time of the criticism, Walker showed a brazen attitude in an interview with CBS, saying, “It doesn’t matter that you gave them in coins. The fact that you paid them is important.” Afterwards, Walker also posted on the company’s website an article slandering Mr. Platen.
The Department of Labor considered Walker’s ‘coin terrorism’ to be a retaliatory act that was prohibited under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. It was determined that Walker’s posting on the company’s website to slander Mr. Platen was defamation.
In addition, the Ministry of Labor found that Walker had not properly paid the overtime pay of other employees, and demanded that he pay $36,971 (approximately 44.29 million won) in the combined overtime pay and damages.
Regarding the Department of Labor’s move, Mr. Platen told The New York Times, “I am delighted to see justice being done.”
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(Photo = ‘Inside Edition’ YouTube capture)
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