Ex-Employer Dumps 500 Pounds Of Oily Pennies In Man's Driveway As Final Pay

In many cases, employers have the understanding that not everyone they hire is going to be around forever. Whether this is because a given employee isn't as right for the role as expected or because a new opportunity comes along for them, there are going to be some departures.

But when this happens, some business owners take it a little more personally than others. And when their feelings compel them to retaliate against someone for leaving, it can make it pretty easy to see why that person quit in the first place.

In that respect, one Georgia auto repair shop owner wasn't doing his public image any favors with a recent payment stunt.

Back in November, Andreas Flaten of Peachtree City, Georgia was spending his last days working at Walker Luxury Autoworks.

As WGCL-TV reported, this came after a year of working there and eight years of knowing the owner, Miles Walker.

But it also came at a point where Flaten said the constant turnover and hostile work environment had taken too much of a toll. So he submitted his two-week notice in writing.

However, it seems that Walker had a pretty intense reaction to this development.

As Flaten said, "He froze and stared at me for like a straight minute...I remember this so clearly...he gets up, puts his hands on his head, walks out the door and disappears for like an hour."

According to an Instagram post by Flaten's girlfriend Olivia Oxley, this shock apparently graduated into "unnecessary" comments about Flaten's daughter and other behavior that compelled the former employee to leave five days into this two-week period.

Oxley also stated this was done through a respectful written explanation and saw Flaten return his cleaned uniforms in a box.

After that, however, Flaten found it difficult to get his final paycheck out of Walker Luxury Autoworks.

According to WHDH, Walker had promised to deliver the outstanding $915 in January but this did not come to pass, leading Flaten to contact the Georgia Department of Labor.

As he put it, "I honestly at this point never expected him to pay."

Nonetheless, an Instagram video posted by Oxley confirmed that the shop did finally pay up by March 12...in the form of a massive mound of pennies.

The pennies came with a note bearing an expletive on the outside and by Flaten's estimate, the $915 weighed a total of 504 pounds.

In his words, "I have no where to put 'em. I had no idea what I was going to do like how do I get money from pennies?"

For the time being, they sit in a large wheelbarrow in Flaten's garage but it seems to be barely holding under their severe weight.

As Flaten put it, "Brand spanking new wheel barrel that is full to the brim. The [...] wheels are like busted out to the side, flat..."

And in case anyone is wondering why they don't just take them to a bank or a Coinstar machine, it's worth noting that the pennies were also covered in some kind of oil.

So while the couple does intend to cash the pennies in, Flaten told WHDH that he is in the arduous process of cleaning them before that is feasible.

And since Oxley's Instagram post made it clear that the oil made even picking them up a challenge, it's hard to tell how long that's going to take.

For his part, Walker claimed that he couldn't recall whether he had dumped the coins.

As he put it, "He got paid, that’s all that matters."

h/t: WGCL-TV, WHDH, Instagram | @ox_isms

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