Auto Dealership

• Construction workers who helped build Tesla’s gigafactory in Austin filed multiple workplace complaints on Tuesday.
• Workers accused of their subcontractors of withholding wages and failing to keep workers safe, documents say.
• Workers at Tesla’s factories have sued the company over working conditions in the past.

Construction workers who helped build Tesla’s sprawling gigafactory in Austin, Texas filed multiple complaints to the US Department of Labor on Tuesday, alleging multiple labor violations they said they faced on the job.

The construction workers accused their subcontractors — those who employed and paid the workers — of withholding wages from some workers, according to a complaint sent by an attorney at the Workers Defense Project, the nonprofit that’s representing the construction workers.

The letter redacted the names of the subcontractors for confidential purposes in light of a potential investigation.

Some workers claimed that they were not paid a time-and-a-half overtime rate for working more than 40 hours a week. They also alleged that they were not compensated the double pay bonus they said they were promised for the extra days they spent working over Thanksgiving weekend in 2021.

Victor, a construction worker