However, it is illegal for a business to shirk its responsibility to pay overtime wages. In a lawsuit filed on December 30, the U.S. Department of Labor “repeatedly and willfully” failed to pay time and a half for overtime. Contrary to its employee contracts, the shop was allegedly paying salary rates instead of hourly, doling out the same check even if more than 40 hours were logged.
NBC News reported that A OK claimed to have paid Flaten with 100,003 pennies, 750 dimes, two quarters, a nickel, and Flaten’s pay stub, which was emblazoned with a specific expletive. Whether Flaten has counted all of those yet remains unclear. The repair shop cheekily updated its home page to include the statement “And yes we accept pennies as payment! They are cash! 10%processing fees do apply.”
Last we heard, Flaten was cleaning the pennies and preparing them to be cashed in. I’m not sure which side set fire to the bridge first, but it’s one that’s likely to never be repaired. The old adage “all publicity is good publicity” does not apply here for this shop.
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