Multiple reports indicate that Tesla workers were told to report to work last week or be fired, and that if they were fired for not showing up, Tesla would not let them claim COVID19 as a reason for their termination (which is a $600/week difference in unemployment benefits for the next 6 weeks).
There was no outrage about other factories because most US factories use more automation than Tesla and workers are generally spaced more than 6 feet apart at "stations" on the assembly line. (See, e.g., the General Mills factories where cereal is made, any other US automaker, etc.)
>Tesla said employees were told to report to work or be fired.
Bullshit. You are confusing different activities that involve not getting paid.
Not showing up for work, the person doesn't get paid, and contrary to your claim (there are no such "multiple reports" unless you are counting reddit comments?) Tesla is being nice and not firing them, but instead putting them on unpaid leave so their job is actually held open for a while. Not even the same ballpark as fired.
Yes there are consequences for unemployment since their job is available to them should they want to do it. This is by law, not Tesla's doing. They aren't terminated by the way… another word for fired… just on unpaid leave, again.
>workers are generally spaced more than 6 feet apart
Bullshit. You are confusing different activities that involve not getting paid.
No, I'm not. Every media article on this, including by Teslerati and other pro-Tesla sites is unanimous on this point.
Not showing up for work, the person doesn't get paid, and contrary to your claim (there are no such "multiple reports" unless you are counting reddit comments?) Tesla is being nice and not firing them, but instead putting them on unpaid leave so their job is actually held open for a while. Not even the same ballpark as fired.
Only someone in Silicon Valley could think that being put on unpaid leave is somehow "being nice" to the employee. Many people live paycheck to paycheck. Also, Tesla wasn't being nice--they were following labor law. If they had terminated those employees without sufficient notice they would have violated state and federal WARN Acts.
This is by law, not Tesla's doing. They aren't terminated by the way… another word for fired… just on unpaid leave, again.
This is false. Tesla asserted that it would challenge any employee's claim that the termination was COVID-related, when the whole reason the factory was shut down was due to COVID restrictions. This is a heinous violation.
That's also the case at the Fremont factory.
This is also false. Employees in the Fremont factory work within 6 feet of each other at multiple stations when the factory is operational. At many stations on their lines, they literally work side-by-side as if they were in a meat-packing plant.
> Yes there are consequences for unemployment since their job is available to them should they want to do it. This is by law, not Tesla's doing
Except it was illegal for Tesla to be opening up early against health department orders, so it seems likely that the law would actually be on the employee’s side. Terminating an employee for refusing to violate lawful government orders is illegal.
Of course, non-unionized factory workers at Tesla may very well not have a lawyer on retainer to consult about this and might feel forced by Tesla’s unlawful threat to go in anyway...
The argument is not moot. Employees can still sue Tesla for making them return to work in violation of a lawfully issued closure order. If any employee gets infected as a result of Tesla reopening, they (Tesla) are not protected by any liability shields that would have applied to another business that waited until it was authorized to reopen.
There was no outrage about other factories because most US factories use more automation than Tesla and workers are generally spaced more than 6 feet apart at "stations" on the assembly line. (See, e.g., the General Mills factories where cereal is made, any other US automaker, etc.)