By Daniel Wiessner
A U.S. labor board has dismissed claims that Tesla Inc illegally fired employees working on Autopilot software at a New York factory to put an end to union organizing.
A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional official on Friday tossed out a complaint filed in February by Workers United, a union seeking to organize workers at Tesla's Buffalo, New York "gigafactory."
Workers United claimed that within days of announcing a union campaign earlier this year, Tesla fired dozens of workers from its Autopilot department. Tesla has said the firings were based on performance reviews and not tied to union activity.
The labor board official, however, found merit to two separate claims that Tesla maintained an unlawful rule on acceptable use of technology in the workplace and illegally solicited grievances from employees in response to union organizing, NLRB spokeswoman Kayla Blado said on Monday.
If Tesla does not settle those claims, the NLRB will issue a complaint against the company that will be heard by an administrative judge, Blado said.
Tesla and Workers United did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
