The strike was planned for Nov. 17 but never took place, according to the complaint, because employees were deterred by an email sent by Musk telling them to commit to being “extremely hardcore” if they wanted to keep their jobs.
How to do it the lawful way
With all of this upheaval and change, there are some things to be aware of when attempting to do so legally, said a lawyer.
“Reports of employees finding out they have been fired by email or being locked out of their work accounts may sound like something from a dystopian nightmare. However, in light of the prevailing economic conditions, multiple tech companies have begun discarding employees by the truckload, changing the employment landscape in the process,” said Paulette Haynes, founder and managing officer of Haynes Law Firm.
“If the employer is untruthful, misleading, or even unduly insensitive, they could be on the hook for additional money. In one recent decision – Pohl v. Hudson’s Bay Company, 2022 ONSC 5230 – an employer was penalized by the court for marching an employee out the front door of the employer’s premises despite no allegations of misconduct,” she said.
“It certainly appears, now more than ever, that employers must take care when terminating employees as courts are ready to scrutinize their conduct.”