Tesla has been sued by a California regulatory agency over allegations that the company had operated its factory in a way that discriminated against black workers.
The lawsuit was filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing on Wednesday after the electric car company preemptively released a blog post denying the claims in the case.
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“After receiving hundreds of complaints from workers,” DFEH Director Kevin Kish said in a statement, “[the agency] found evidence that Tesla’s Fremont factory is a racially 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.”
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The suit alleges that workers used several slurs in the workspace, including the N-word, “monkey toes,” and “hood rat.” The employees also described specific areas where black workers congregated as the “porch monkey station.” Racist graffiti was also allegedly left in several public spaces, including break rooms and restrooms.
The DFEH also alleges that black employees were given the most physically demanding jobs because they were “better suited” for such work.
Black workers make up 10% of Tesla’s workforce and 4% of its leadership, according to a 2020 diversity report.
Tesla has pushed back on this lawsuit, alleging that it is a “narrative” spun by the DFEH and other legal firms to “generate publicity.”
“Over the past five years, the DFEH has been asked on almost 50 occasions by individuals who believe they were discriminated against or harassed to investigate Tesla,” Tesla said in a blog post. “On every single occasion, when the DFEH closed an investigation, it did not find misconduct against Tesla.”
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The electric car company stated it intends to ask the court to pause the case after the DFEH files its lawsuit. It claims that “despite repeated requests, the DFEH has declined to provide Tesla with the specific allegations or the factual bases for its lawsuit.”
Tesla has faced several lawsuits alleging discriminatory practices. At least eight women have filed lawsuits against Tesla, alleging that fellow workers have discriminated against them and physically harassed them on multiple occasions. Tesla also paid out $137 million to an employee over racial abuse allegations in October.
The DFEH has overseen several notable cases in the tech industry. It helped settle a gender discrimination lawsuit at game developer Riot Games in December.
Representatives from the DFEH and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
