Tesla told workers not to discuss pay, working conditions: US labour board

Elon Musk-run Tesla has been accused of violating labour laws in the US, allegedly directing employees not to talk about pay and working conditions. In a complaint, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) claimed that the electric car-maker “told employees not to complain to higher level managers about their pay or other conditions of employment” and said “not to discuss their pay with other persons”.

The company also allegedly told employees not to discuss the hiring, suspension, or termination of employees with others. These incidents occurred from December 2021 to January 2022, the complaint alleged. A judge will hear the arguments laid out by the complaint during a hearing in February.The NLRB in 2021 forced Musk to delete an anti-union tweet, and ruled that its firing of union activist Richard Ortiz was illegal.

Two US-based Tesla employees filed complaints with the NLRB earlier this month over claims the company illegally fired them for criticising Musk. Meanwhile, two female Twitter employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, accusing the micro-blogging platform of violating federal and state of California laws that ban gender discrimination at the workplace. The class-action lawsuit, filed in the San Francisco Federal Court, said that Musk laid off 57 per cent of women workers compared to 47 per cent of men. According to reports, at least three Twitter employees have filed other complaints against Twitter with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the US.