The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has filed a lawsuit against Tesla Inc. alleging systematic racial discrimination and harassment.
Tesla said on Wednesday the DFEH intended to file a lawsuit.
The lawsuit appears to be focused on alleged misconduct at its factory in Fremont, California, between 2015 and 2019.
The lawsuit, Department of Fair Employment and Housing Vs. Tesla, Inc., was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of Alameda.
The lawsuit notes that the Fremont factory accommodates more than 15,000 Tesla workers alone, and that “Black and/or African American workers are segregated to the lowest levels,” making up 0% of executives and roughly 3% of professionals, while some “20% of factory operatives, such as engine and other machine assemblers, are Black and/or African American workers.
The suit also states: “Segregation at the Fremont factory, along with the absence of Black and/or African Americans in leadership roles, has left many complaints of rampant racism unchecked for years. As early as 2012, Black and/or African American Tesla workers have complained that Tesla production leads, supervisors, and managers constantly use the n-word and other racial slurs to refer to Black workers.”
According to the suit, these workers have complained that swastikas, “KKK,” the n-word, and other racist writing are etched onto walls of restrooms, restroom stalls, lunch tables, and factory machinery.
“They have complained that Black and/or African American workers are assigned to more physically demanding posts and the lowest-level contract roles, paid less, and more often terminated from employment than other workers,” complaint continues.
The suit alleges that Tesla has limited investigations of such incidents, and that workers were discouraged from complaining.
DFEH’s enforcement action “seeks to remedy, prevent, and deter unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation” on behalf of all Black and/or African American workers.
The department is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages, economic damages, injunctive relief and declaratory relief. Among the economic damages sought are pay adjustments, backpay, lost wages and benefits.
The electric-car maker said it will ask the court to pause the case once the state’s civil rights regulator files its lawsuit, Reuters reported in an earlier story.
The company has been fighting a series of lawsuits over allegations of racial discrimination and sexual harassment, including being sued by two female employees last year in lawsuits alleging a “hostile work environment” against women at the Fremont factory.
Topics Lawsuits California Manufacturing Tesla
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