FREMONT, Calif. (KNX) — California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has sued Tesla over allegations that Black workers at its Fremont plant were subjected to racist slurs and drawings, and assigned the most physically taxing jobs.
The lawsuit, filed in state court on Wednesday, alleged the work environment at the Fremont plant is racially segregated, and that conditions were so hostile for Black workers that many were forced to quit.
“Workers referred to the Tesla factory as the ‘slaveship’ or ‘the plantation,’ where defendants’ production leads ‘crack[ed] the whip,” the complaint alleged.
In a blog post published Wednesday, Tesla executives disputed DFEH’s characterization of the work environment at its Fremont plant, characterizing the suit as “a narrative spun by the DFEH and a handful of plaintiff firms to generate publicity.”
Allegations contained in the complaint were “not actual proof,” the post contended.
Tesla said DFEH had conducted nearly 50 discrimination investigations against the company in the last five years, and has concluded that all lacked merit. The company added that it does not tolerate harassment within its ranks and has terminated workers who engaged in such conduct.
But a federal jury in October awarded $137 million to a former Fremont plant employee who alleged managers ignored his complaints about racial harassment at the location — which included racial slurs and swastikas drawn on bathroom walls. And last year, a judge rejected Tesla’s bid to dismiss a proposed class action suit on behalf of factory workers who alleged similar discrimination claims.
Tesla has maintained no wrongdoing in all cases, with executives claiming they have enacted policies to combat and punish racist conduct.
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