Georgian court orders auto-repair shop owner to pay $40,000 damages to employee

The owner of an auto-repair shop in Georgia has been ordered by a court to pay nearly $40,000 in back pay and damages to a former employee.

According to a report, the judgment came after the shop owner retaliated against the worker who had requested his final paycheck and failed to provide overtime pay to the employee and eight others.

The order was issued by Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in a lawsuit filed by the federal Department of Labor in 2021.

The lawsuit was brought against Miles Walker, the owner of A OK Walker Luxury Autoworks in Peachtree City, Ga.

According to the Labor Department, the claim stated that Mr. Walker retaliated against Andreas Flaten, the employee who reported that he had not received his final wages of $915 after resigning. In response, Walker delivered approximately 91,500 greasy pennies along with an offensive pay stub to Flaten’s home.

In addition to this incident, Mr. Walker also made defamatory statements about the former employee on the company’s website.

The consent judgment, based on an agreement between the parties, includes several requirements for Mr. Walker.

“He must refrain from intimidating or retaliating against former or current employees, remove all references to Flaten from the company’s website and social media, and post a copy of the consent judgment and federal rules against workplace retaliation in his facility,” the judgement says.

The judgment found that Mr. Walker violated federal overtime provisions by not paying the employees the required overtime rates.

As a result, he is obligated to pay $39,934.18 in back wages and damages to the nine employees involved.