2 former Tesla employees suing the company say it's trying to get laid-off staff to sign away their rights

• Two laid-off Tesla employees are suing the company and seeking class-action status.
• They say separation agreements sent by Tesla to laid-off staff involve signing away rights.

Two former Tesla employees who are suing the company have entered an emergency plea asking a Texas court to block the automaker from enforcing separation agreements with laid-off staff.

John Lynch and Daxton Hartfield first filed their lawsuit against Tesla on June 19. The pair are seeking class-action status.

Both had their positions terminated as part of recent company-wide layoffs and argue Tesla did not comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), which mandates companies give 60 days notice before terminating more than 50 employees at the same site.

Lynch and Hartfield worked for Tesla in Nevada. According to the lawsuit, the company laid off 500 staff in the state.

In the plea filed Tuesday, Lynch and Daxton asked the court to stop Tesla from making laid off employees sign separation agreements that grant only one or two weeks' severance pay.

The agreements also include a clause that would give Tesla full release from legal claims, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit says laid-off Tesla staff should be entitled to 60 days of pay and benefits, per the WARN Act.

The plea included sworn declarations from six other Tesla employees who were let go with their separation agreements.

Separation agreements included one or two weeks' pay plus two months of health insurance benefits. They also included a clause releasing Tesla from "any and all claims."

"If left unchecked, Tesla may succeed in cutting off the rights of thousands of potential class members ... without them even knowing about this case and their rights," the plea says.

Tesla did not immediately respond when asked by Insider for comment.

Are you a Tesla worker affected by the recent layoffs? Contact this reporter at ihamilton@insider.com or iahamilton@protonmail.com. Always use a non-work email.