Tesla has been sued by a state civil legal rights company for running what it describes as a “racially segregated workplace” in California.
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) submitted the lawsuit late on Wednesday, right after the automaker printed a blogpost pre-empting and denying the costs.
DFEH director Kevin Kish reported in a assertion: “After receiving hundreds of grievances from personnel, DFEH observed proof that Tesla’s Fremont manufacturing facility is a racially segregated place of work where Black workers are subjected to racial slurs and discriminated towards in job assignments, self-control, shell out, and marketing creating a hostile function setting.”
Warning: racist language and slurs as claimed from DFEH’s scenario observe.
The DFEH’s circumstance towards Telsa describes a large vary of discriminatory actions and harassment at the company’s Fremont factory. Defendants in the scenario say they read employees, administrators, and supervisors often employing racial slurs like the n-word, “monkey toes,” and “hood rat.” Locations in the manufacturing facility where by many Black and African American staff were being found had been referred to as the “porch monkey station,” and defendants say supervisors and supervisors have been either “active participants and/or witnesses to these racist reviews.” Racist graffiti was also still left in split rooms, restrooms, and perform stations like phrases these as “all monkeys get the job done outdoors,” “fuck [n-words]” and “hang [n-words]” future to a drawing of a noose. Defendants says this graffiti was “left up for months.”
Operate, reward, and punishment was also meted out alongside discriminatory racial lines, say defendants in the scenario. They report that Black employees had been offered the most bodily demanding employment in the manufacturing facility, and advised they have been “better suited” to such get the job done. Black employees say they had been much more usually penalized for minimal office infractions than non-Black colleagues, and that they have been additional generally denied promotions. As a outcome, they were being underrepresented in Tesla’s management. A 2020 variety report from Tesla mentioned Black workers built up 10 % of its workforce and 4 p.c of its leadership.
Tesla has formerly been sued for racial harassment and discrimination at its Fremont factory. In October last yr, a choose awarded a Black previous staff $137 million in damages immediately after he documented a hostile get the job done natural environment wherever he listened to “daily racist epithets” like the n-term and was told to “go back to Africa” by colleagues.
In a blogpost preempting this new lawsuit from DFEH, Tesla reported it “strongly opposes all sorts of discrimination and harassment and has a committed Staff Relations workforce that responds to and investigates all complaints.”
The corporation also lifted its position as “the previous remaining car maker in California” in the write-up, and stated earlier DFEH investigations had found no evidence of misconduct at the plant. “Yet, at a time when manufacturing work are leaving California, the DFEH has determined to sue Tesla alternatively of constructively working with us,” mentioned the enterprise. “This is both unfair and counterproductive, primarily due to the fact the allegations emphasis on occasions from years in the past.”
Update February 10th, 6:52AM ET: Story has been updated with supplemental particulars from DFEH’s lawsuit.
