Judge: Tesla Violated Federal Labor Laws

Last year Tesla Inc. repeatedly violated federal labor law, according to a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge in California.

The ruling stems from a complaint of unfair labor practices filed in two years ago by the United Auto Workers union. The union hopes to represent workers at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, Calif.

In her ruling, Judge Amita Baman Tracy cites multiple infractions over the past two years, including a tweet in May 2018 by CEO Elon Musk that indicated workers who vote for union representation would forfeit company-paid stock options.

Tracy has ordered Tesla to offer to reinstate and back-pay pro-union workers who were fired last year, Bloomberg News reports. The company also must hold an employee meeting at the Fremont plant and read a notice that says the NLRB found that Tesla violated rules set by the National Labor Relations Act. The law prohibits company management from interfering with or blocking efforts by a union to make its case to employees.

Musk has bridled at efforts by the UAW to organize the Fremont facility, but the company denies it broke any labor laws. Both sides and Judge Tracy agree that an appeal of her decision to the NLRB is inevitable, Bloomberg says.