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Elon Musk announced Juneteenth is a holiday for Tesla and SpaceX employees in the middle of their shift, without allowing them paid time off

Elon Musk announced Juneteenth is a holiday for Tesla and SpaceX employees in the middle of their shift, without allowing them paid time off

Allana Akhtar

Elon Musk tweeted that Juneteenth would be a company holiday at Tesla and SpaceX on Twitter on Friday, June 19.
Musk later tweeted that employees would need to use their own paid time off to commemorate the holiday.
An email about the day off was sent to employees just before 8 a.m. PST by the head of human resources Valerie Workman, a follow-up email said that the day would not be paid time off, according to BuzzFeed News reporter Ryan Mac.
By announcing the holiday on Friday before 8 a.m. PST, some employees only heard about it mid-shift SF Gate reported.
Juneteenth celebrates commemorates the end of slavery in the US. Though it's still not a federal holiday, many companies like Twitter and Nike have chose to honor the day by giving employees a paid day off.
Former Tesla employees have said the they faced racial harassment and discrimination on the job. In 2017, former Tesla factory workers filed separate lawsuits stating they were frequently called the N-word. Six Black and Hispanic employees said they were passed up for promotions to less-qualified white colleagues at the Tesla factory in Buffalo, New York in 2019 discrimination complaints.
Some Tesla employees had organized a Juneteenth rally against police brutality at 1 p.m. outside the factory in Fremont, California, per a Facebook post.
Business Insider contacted Tesla for additional comment.