Tesla ordered to tell laid off workers about lawsuit

The United States District Court ordered the company to tell employees about the lawsuit.

The suit was filed by two former employees who claimed that the company required them to sign releases in order to get less severance than federal and California law allow. Attorneys asked the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to prevent the automaker from asking laid-off workers to sign releases in exchange for just one week of severance.

More than 500 employees were let go from the Gigafactory 2 in Nevada after CEO Musk announced that a coming economic downturn would force the company to lay off 10% of its workforce. Workers laid off after June 19 are protected by the court order.

The lawsuit was filed by two employees who were laid off from the Gigafactory 2 in Nevada and one from the Palo Alto store.

The court order states that the separation agreements executed after the lawsuit was filed are coercive, abusive, and misleading.

The claims were dismissed by the motion filed by the company. The company has to inform its employees about the suit until the merits of the claims are decided in court.

The court denied the request for compensation.