TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Former employee Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s US electric car company. They allege Tesla’s decision to mass layoffs violates federal law. Prior to the layoffs, the company did not provide any notification of the dismissal.
The lawsuit was filed Sunday night in Texas by two Tesla workers, John Lynch and Daxton Hartsfield. They said they were laid off from Tesla’s giant factory in Sparks, Nevada in June. According to the lawsuit, more than 500 employees were laid off at the Nevada plant.
Workers accused Elon Musk’s company of failing to comply with federal laws on mass layoffs. Prior to a layoff, the company is required to notify the employee within 60 days under the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
The two former employees will seek class action status for all former Tesla employees across the United States who were laid off in May or June without prior notice. “Tesla has just notified employees that their termination of employment will take effect immediately,” the complaint said.
Tesla has not yet commented on the number of employees laid off. The company also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla is the richest man in the world. He said earlier this month that he had a “very bad feeling” about the economy. Elon Musk also stated that Tesla needs to cut staff by about 10 percent. More than 20 people claiming to be Tesla employees said they had been laid off from their positions this month.
In their lawsuit Lynch and Hartsfield asked for payments and benefits for a 60-day notice period. “It is surprising that Tesla blatantly violated federal labor laws by laying off so many workers without providing the necessary notice,” said Shannon Liss-Riordan, a lawyer representing the workers.
He said Tesla is offering some employees just one week’s severance pay. He is preparing an emergency motion with the court to try to block Tesla from trying to get a release from an employee in exchange for just one week of severance pay. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court, West District of Texas.
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