The US state of California has sued e-car manufacturer Tesla. The reason is more than one hundred complaints of racist hostility. Especially in the Fremont branch, a working environment prevails in which people of color are hostile, harassed and bullied.
This is not the first time Tesla has been in the crosshairs of investigators. Last year, a U.S. court already fined the e-car maker millions for a racist work environment.
Back then, a California court jury awarded a former Tesla employee $137 million in damages. This time, however, it’s not an isolated case.
US state of California files racism lawsuit against Tesla
The US state of California has now sued the e-car manufacturer on the basis of hundreds of complaints. The accusation is that working conditions at Tesla’s new plant in Fremont are racist.
The U.S. Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) announced on Thursday, February 10, 2022, that employees of color at the e-car maker’s plants had been subjected to increased hostility, bullying and harassment because of their skin color.
E-car maker denies allegations
Meanwhile, on the company’s internal blog, Tesla denied the allegations. The e-car maker called the lawsuit “misguided” in advance. The company would reject any form of discrimination and would take action in appropriate cases of racism.
According to the supervisory authority DFEH, however, such incidents are widespread. The responsible investigators have received over one hundred complaints. One Tesla employee even reported that she had been racially insulted 50 to 100 times a day.
DFEH Director Kevin Kish commented:
After receiving hundreds of complaints from workers, DFEH has found evidence that Tesla’s Fremont plant is a racially segregated workplace where Black workers are subjected to racial slurs and discriminated against in work assignment, discipline, pay, and promotion, resulting in a hostile work environment.”
