John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 01.02.2023 01:Jan AM EST

Tesla Alleged To Have Violated Labor Laws; NLRB Files New Complaint

Tesla may not be getting a happy start to its new year.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently filed a complaint against the automaker for allegedly breaking labor laws in its Orlando, Florida, location.

The company and its attorneys have yet to respond to an inquiry, nor has it addressed the NLRB's complaint, per Bloomberg.

NLRB v. Tesla Complaint Details

The NLRB mentioned in its complaint against Tesla that the company illegally coerced its employees in its Orlando, Florida location from discussing workplace issues, including not talking about pay and working conditions.

According to the complaint, the NLRB's regional director in Tampa alleges that Tesla prohibited employees from complaining to higher-level managers about their pay or other conditions of employment. The company also forbids employees from discussing their payments with other Tesla employees.

Interestingly, the company also doesn't allow employees from discussing the hiring, suspension, or termination of employees with others.

The complaint also mentioned that Tesla had done these alleged crimes from Dec. 2021 to Jan. 2022. As a result, the company violated laws that prevent companies from "interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of rights" guaranteed in the NLRB Act.

Kayla Blado, the agency's spokesperson, said in an email that a judge would hear the arguments it laid out in its complaint during a February hearing.

Tesla and any other party o the proceeding can appear and present testimony regarding the allegations the agency stated in its complaint.

Complaints from the agency's regional directors are considered by agency judges. As such, companies can appeal the complaint to the agency's members in Washington, and then to federal court.

NLRB's Fight Against Tesla

This complaint isn't the first the NLRB filed against Tesla. You may remember that the agency ruled against Tesla's dress code, stating it was unlawful for the company to mandate employees to only wear Tesla or pre-approved black tee shirts.

Additionally, The Verge noted that the NLRB forced its CEO, Elon Musk, to delete an anti-union tweet in 2021, which could still be read to this day.

At the same time, the agency also ruled that the company's firing of union activist Richard Ortiz was illegal, with the agency ordering Tesla to rehire Ortiz with back pay, per Engadget.

The NLRB isn't the only one filing complaint against Tesla. An earlier Business Insider report mentioned that two Tesla employees filed complaints of their own with the agency as a result of discussing their working conditions.

These discussions addressed "Tesla's failure to enforce its non-harrassment policy and its implementation of its post-COVID return to office policy," according to the fillings.

These employees were part of a group drafting letter to Tesla's executive team but were fired before the letters were circulated and after their complaints were discussed with each other on internal chat groups.

A group of former SpaceX employees also filed a similar complaint for being illegally fired after writing an open letter calling out Musk's behavior as "a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment."