A Blog by Jonathan Low

 

Feb 10, 2022

Hundreds of Employees Filed Complaints Leading To Gov't's Tesla Racial Abuse Lawsuit

In addition to hundreds of workers' complaints about racial abuse, use of the word 'systemic' implies Tesla was aware of the behavior and chose not to act to stop it.  

Given that this is the third time in the past two years that such complaints against the Tesla plant have been filed - and at least one of which resulted in the company being forced to pay damages - that something is wrong with the management of the facility. The looming question is whether senior leadership, eg CEO Elon Musk, was aware of the situation. JL

Rebecca Bellan reports in Tech Crunch:

California received “hundreds of complaints from workers” and found evidence the Fremont factory is a “segregated workplace where black workers are subjected to racial slurs and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline, pay and promotion creating a hostile work environment.”At the end of 2021, multiple women accused Tesla of fostering a culture of sexual harassment at the same factory. Just a few months ago, Tesla was also ordered to pay $137 million in damages to a black former contractor who accused the company of turning a blind eye to discrimination and racial abuse at the same plant.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Tesla on Wednesday alleging racial discrimination and harassment. The complaint, which was filed in state court, calls out issues at Tesla’s Fremont, California manufacturing plant.

The California agency had received “hundreds of complaints from workers” and found evidence that the Fremont factory is a “segregated workplace where black workers are subjected to racial slurs and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline, pay and promotion creating a hostile work environment,” said the agency’s director, Kevin Kish, in a statement, the Wall Street Journal reports.

This isn’t the first time the electric vehicle maker has faced lawsuits for harassment and discrimination. Back in 2017, Tesla was hit with a class-action lawsuit filed by a former plant worker, Marcus Vaughn, who alleged Tesla failed to investigate complaints of Vaughn being repeatedly called the “n-word” by managers and coworkers at the Fremont plant.

Just a few months ago, Tesla was ordered to pay $137 million in damages to a black former contractor who accused the company of turning a blind eye to discrimination and racial abuse at the same plant. In the lawsuit, the worker, Owen Diaz, alleged that he was subjected to racial slurs and that Tesla employees left drawings of racist graffiti, swastikas and offensive cartoons, all of which supervisors neglected to halt.

At the end of 2021, multiple women came forward to accuse Tesla of fostering a culture of sexual harassment at the very same factory. The women said they were subjected to discrimination, catcalling, unwanted advances and physical contact while at work.

Tesla defended itself in a blog post published before the lawsuit was filed, doubling down on its strong opposition to discrimination and harassment and touting the corporate measures it says it has taken to respond to complaints and address diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Tesla has always disciplined and terminated employees who engage in misconduct, including those who use racial slurs or harass others in different ways,” the blog post reads.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Amazing information providing by your article, thank you so much for taking the time to share a wonderful article.

rainbow linen said...

This article is an appealing wealth of informative data that is interesting and well-written. I commend your hard work on this and thank you for this information. You’ve got what it takes to get attention.
Online Sofa Covers in Pakistan

Post a Comment