The workers allege that some were not paid for work they had done, others did not receive overtime pay for time worked beyond their contractual hours and some did not receive non-discretionary bonuses they had been promised for working weekends and public holidays.
The companies employing the workers are all subcontractors working on the 2,500-acre site.
Work on the gigafactory began in 2020 and practical completion was marked with a “Cyber Rodeo” event hosted by Tesla founder Elon Musk in April 2022.
The workers are being represented by the Workers’ Defense Project, a non-profit organisation, which sent a letter detailing the complaints to the Department of Labor on Tuesday, 15th November. The letter redacted the names of the subcontractors to avoid compromising any potential investigation.
Complaints have also emerged concerning health & safety conditions on the project. One worker, who has filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that “every day there was a safety issue”.
Issues included being asked to work at night on a roof with no lights and, on another occasion, being expected to work on a flooded floor surrounded by live electric wiring. He also said that fake certificates of completion were issued for training that had never happened.
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