Global Courant
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, compensatory damages and an order that Tesla curb racism at its California factory.
A government anti-discrimination agency in the United States is taking legal action against Elon Musk’s Tesla, accusing the company of allowing the “general racial harassment” of black workers at its flagship car factory in California, and retaliating against those who complained.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal body, said Black workers have routinely faced stereotyping, racial slurs and hostility since at least 2015.
The lawsuit, which follows a mediation failure, adds federal charges to discrimination claims already filed by the state of California, lawsuits by individual Tesla employees and a class action lawsuit involving about 240 employees.
The electric car company “subjected black employees at its manufacturing facilities in Fremont, California… to severe or widespread racial harassment and created and maintained a hostile work environment because of their race,” the lawsuit said.
“The racist misconduct was frequent, persistent, inappropriate, unwelcome and occurred across all services, departments and positions,” the commission said.
The indictment stated that the factory walls contained graffiti depicting swastikas, nooses and threats, some of which was allegedly on vehicles rolling off the production line.
The commission said black workers were routinely subjected to racial slurs, including variations on the “N-word,” along with “monkey” and “boy.”
“Insults were used casually and openly in high traffic areas and at employment hubs,” the commission said.
Tesla announced last year that the EEOC had formally expressed concerns about the situation at the factory.
In the other cases, the company has said it will not tolerate discrimination and takes employee complaints seriously.
There was no immediate response from Tesla or Musk to the EEOC action.
According to the legal documents, Tesla supervisors and managers witnessed racist abuse but failed to intervene, and Tesla failed to take steps to address the misconduct.
Black Tesla workers who complained of racist treatment were moved to undesirable tasks or shifts, unfairly written off or even fired, the lawsuit said.
“After expressing my dissatisfaction, I started signing up for every little thing that was previously acceptable – like listening to music while working,” a court document quoted a Black Tesla employee as saying.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, along with compensation for injured black workers and an order that Tesla curb racism at the factory.
California sued Tesla last year through the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which enforces the state’s civil rights laws and is similar to the EEOC, and said it had received hundreds of employee complaints.
Tesla released a statement at the time saying it opposed “all forms of discrimination and harassment” and was committed to “providing a workplace that is safe, respectful, fair and inclusive.”
Additionally, a number of female Tesla employees filed lawsuits in 2021 alleging sexual harassment at the Fremont factory.
