[이데일리 권혜미 기자]When a retired employee reported to the authorities that he had not been paid, the owner, who harbored resentment, committed a so-called ‘coin terrorism’ and was accused by the US Department of Labor.
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According to the U.S. Department of Labor and the New York Times (NYT) on the 9th (local time), on the 30th of last month, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hours Bureau charged Miles Walker, the owner of an auto repair shop in Peachtree City, Georgia, for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). filed a complaint with the Federal District Court for the Northern District.
Walker, who runs a luxury car maintenance company ‘OK Walker Autoworks’, said that Andreas Platen, an employee who resigned after experiencing a quarrel with him, reported to the Ministry of Labor on January 26, last year, that he did not receive a monthly salary of $915 (about 1.1 million won). I knew and was angry.
Platen had not received his last month’s pay until three months after leaving the company, and he contacted Walker, but instead became angry and decided to file a complaint, saying, “Your early resignation caused a lot of damage.”
According to the Department of Labor’s complaint, Walker learned of Plato’s report and said, “How can I make him realize that[Platon]is a disgusting person?” I have a lot of 1 cent (about 12 won) coins. I will use this,” he vowed to retaliate.
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In the end, on March 12 of the same year, Walker visited Platen’s house and piled up a pile of 91,500 coins soaked in car oil in the driveway in front of his house, and also wrote a swear word, ‘Eat X,’ in the envelope containing the pay stubs. It was said that it took Platen seven hours to clean the coins one by one.
The story became known through a video posted on Instagram by Platen’s girlfriend Olivia Oxley. The only thing that matters is the fact that you paid your monthly salary.”
The Department of Labor considered Walker’s actions to be retaliation prohibited under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and found that his posting of defamatory comments to Platen on the company’s website also constituted defamation.
“I’m happy to see justice being done,” Platen told The New York Times in connection with the complaint.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor demanded that Walker pay $36,971 in overtime pay and $36,971 in damages after it was discovered that Walker had not paid other employees properly.
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