Tesla Wins Order Sending Laid-Off Workers Dispute to Arbitration

Tesla Inc.‘s motion to compel 500 Nevada laid-off factory workers to arbitrate claims they did not receive the requisite advance notice of their dismissals was granted by a Texas federal judge.

US District Court for the Western District of Texas Judge Robert Pitman adopted Judge Susan Hightower’s recommendation to grant Tesla’s motion to compel and dismiss the laid off workers’ complaint Thursday.

The workers’ said that Tesla violated federal law by requiring them to sign separation agreements and failing to provide 60 days’ notice of the layoffs.

The court agreed with Hightower that there is “clear and unmistakable evidence” that the workers agreed to delegate the threshold question of arbitrability to an arbitrator. Because the workers failed to timely file objections to the recommendation and the court found no it had no clear errors, Pitman adopted it and dismissed the case.

The case is Lynch v. Tesla, Inc., W.D. Tex., No. 22-cv-00597, 10/13/22.