The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed an official complaint against Tesla, saying the company violated workers' rights by suppressing their unionization efforts. Tesla will have to submit an answer to the charges on or before September 14 and appear at a hearing before an NLRB administrative law judge in Oakland, California, that will begin November 14.

The United Auto Workers, a labor union, and three Tesla employees submitted separate complaints in April claiming the company had coerced employees trying to aid a unionization effort into silence. The NLRB said it has found merit to the charges and filed them into one official complaint.

The complaint says Tesla forced employees to sign a restrictive confidentiality agreement that prevented them from organizing or discussing their work conditions. It also claims some Tesla security guards and human-resources employees intimidated factory workers who were trying to pass out leaflets regarding the union organizing efforts and asked them to leave the premises...

"These allegations, which have been filed by the same contingent of union organizers who have been so outspoken with media, are entirely without merit," a Tesla spokesperson said in a statement. "We will obviously be responding as part of the NLRB process.”... [includes full company statement]