On June 30, 2022, another employment class action lawsuit was filed against Tesla, Inc., (“Tesla” or the “Company”) alleging that African American and Hispanic employees suffer discrimination at the Company’s Fremont factory. More specifically, the lawsuit claims that Tesla supervisors, managers, and Human Resources personnel engaged in daily harassment of African American and Hispanic employees, creating a toxic work environment. Plaintiffs are seeking civil penalties, monetary damages, and a legal order requiring Tesla to improve training to prevent harassment, discrimination, and retaliation and to establish enforcement rules.
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of racial discrimination lawsuit against Tesla. In fact, two weeks before the class action was filed, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California awarded $15 million in damages to a plaintiff who litigated a similar race discrimination case concerning the same Tesla Fremont Factory.
Both cases involve shocking allegations of racist conduct, including the recurring use of racially derogatory terms toward multiple employees, racist graffiti, and KKK signs written on restroom walls, stalls, lockers, benches, workstations, breakrooms, and tables.
When employees raised these issues with their supervisors or Human Resources, they often faced retaliation and wrongful termination. Furthermore, the lawsuits allege that although Tesla knew about systematic racist behavior against minority factory workers, the Company failed to take sufficient action to control the workplace discrimination and harassment.
Tesla is also in the midst of defending a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) in California State Court and an investigation by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). The DFEH action alleges claims of systemic race discrimination, hostile work environment, and unequal pay, among other things. The EEOC investigation concerns similar topics.
Updates will be posted to this blog as the matter progresses. The caption for this lawsuit is Jasmin Wilson v. Tesla Inc., Case No. 22-cv-013603, filed in Superior Court of the State of California, County of Alameda.
The legal team at Miller Shah LLP has significant experience representing employment matters. If you have any questions regarding this subject or this post, please contact Jonathan Dilger (jadilger@millershah.com) or Stephen Rutkowski (strutkowski@millershah.com). The firm can also be reached toll-free at (866) 540-5505.
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