Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
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- Two laid off Tesla employees are suing the company and seeking class-action status.
- They say separation agreements Tesla is sending laid off staff mean they’re signing away their rights.
- The pair asked the court to block Tesla from obtaining these agreements.
Two former Tesla employees who are in the process of suing the company have entered an emergency plea asking a Texas court to block the company from enforcing separation agreements with staff it has laid off.
John Lynch and Daxton Hartfield first filed their lawsuit against Tesla on June 19. The pair are seeking class-action status for the lawsuit.
Both had their positions terminated as part of a recent company-wide layoff and argue Tesla did not comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), which mandates companies give 60 days notice before terminating more than 50 employees at the same site.
Lynch and Hartfield worked for Tesla in Nevada. According to the lawsuit, the company laid off 500 staff in the state.
In the plea filed Tuesday Lynch and Daxton asked the court to stop Tesla from making laid off employees sign separation agreements granting only one or two weeks’ severance.
The agreements also include a full release of Tesla from any legal claims, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit says laid off Tesla staff should be entitled to 60 days of pay and benefits, per the WARN Act.
The plea included sworn declarations from six other Tesla employees who were let go with their separation agreements.
Separation agreements included one or two weeks’ pay plus two months of health insurance benefits. They also included a clause releasing Tesla from “any and all claims.”
“If left unchecked, Tesla may succeed in cutting off the rights of thousands of potential class members … without them even knowing about this case and their rights,” the plea says.
Tesla did not immediately respond when contacted by Insider.
Are you a Tesla worker affected by the recent layoffs? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or [email protected]. Always use a non-work email.
