"Can't Pay Sick Leave to Employees... Tesla's German Factory Demands Disclosure of Medical Diagnoses"

It has been reported that the management of Tesla's German factory is withholding salary payments from employees on sick leave, demanding detailed explanations of their health conditions.

According to reports from the German economic newspaper Handelsblatt and others on the 14th (local time), the management sent emails to employees who submitted sick leave documents, requesting them to disclose the doctor's diagnosis and to waive confidentiality obligations regarding their illness.

In Germany, employees can take up to six weeks of paid sick leave annually, and no medical certificate is required for absences of up to three consecutive days. However, if the absence exceeds four consecutive days, employees must obtain a "certificate of incapacity for work" from a doctor, which does not specify the illness, and submit it to their employer.

Tesla's German factory was also controversial last year for reportedly visiting the homes of employees on sick leave without prior notice to check their health status. Elon Musk, CEO, shared an article on X (formerly Twitter) stating that the sick leave rate at the German factory exceeded 15% and said he would "look into it."

A Tesla vehicle burned in Berlin, Germany. Yonhap News.

To reduce work loss, Tesla's German factory introduced a system that awards a bonus of 1,000 euros (approximately 1.58 million KRW) if absences are less than 5% of regular working hours. As a result, the sick leave rate reportedly dropped to 9%, and the company claimed that work attitudes improved. However, labor groups argued that this was the result of management pressuring employees not to use sick leave according to regulations.

Musk was appointed head of the Office of Government Efficiency under the Donald Trump administration and is leading federal government restructuring. However, due to his unfavorable image, he is struggling in the electric vehicle business. In Berlin, early this morning, a series of fires suspected to be arson broke out in four Tesla vehicles. Last month, two Tesla cars were burned in Dresden, eastern Germany, and one of them had a sticker that read "Stop the Nazis." Police are investigating the possibility of extremist groups being responsible.