In February 2018, Devon Beccera started working at the Tesla Giga factory in Sparks, Nevada. A few months into her employment she was promoted to supervisor , making about $25 an hour. She found out in July that year that she was pregnant, and informed management she planned on taking maternity leave in February, 2019, once she became eligible.
Instead, on 14 December 2018, Beccera was fired.
“Nevada is a right-to-work state, so they didn’t need any sort of reason for firing me, but it was very convenient to fire me two weeks before Christmas, and about 50 days before my maternity leave started,” she said.
It meant that 28 weeks into her pregnancy, Beccera lost her medical insurance and only source of income, as her husband was a stay-at-home dad. They later struggled to pay for diapers and other essentials for their newborn.
A Tesla spokesperson said Beccera’s termination was due to performance issues.
Over the past few years, Tesla has faced numerous lawsuits, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) charges and allegations that have included unfair firings, union busting, and a work atmosphere that enabled racial discrimination and sexual harassment. In March, an NLRB settlement mandated Tesla post flyers that affirmed workers’ rights to organize at their Fremont, California plant. A few months later, workers at Tesla’s Buffalo, New York plant filed federal labor charges accusing Tesla of firing workers for union organizing.
Now a Guardian investigation has revealed numerous cases where former workers claim they were unfairly fired and current workers allege threats of termination and disciplinary action for taking sick days.
Jennifer Peercy worked at Tesla as a customer care agent in Las Vegas, Nevada, since August 2018. A mother of four and more than five months into her pregnancy, her colleagues offered her their own time off to help with childcare. But Tesla management told her the time wasn’t transferable between employees. She stopped taking it, but was fired two weeks later for doing so.
“If I knew that, I never would have taken it,” Peercy said. “I’m 22 weeks pregnant without a job or income and four girls to care for.”
She’s currently applying for unemployment and looking for jobs while still hoping to return to Tesla . Peercy provided the Guardian with her termination letter and an email she sent the chief executive officer, Elon Musk, which resulted in another follow-up from an HR staffer who reaffirmed her termination.