A California regulatory agency is suing carmaker Tesla, alleging a “racially segregated” workplace at its Fremont factory, where Black workers were regularly and repeatedly subjected to racial slurs and discrimination.
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleged in a complaint it said it filed Wednesday in Alameda Superior Court that “every day” Black workers heard racial slurs, racist comments and jokes by management. These included “production associates, leads, and supervisors directly calling them the n-word throughout the day,” according to the complaint, as well as racist language like “boy” and “go back to Africa.”
The factory, Tesla’s main U.S. production facility, was “racially segregated,” according to the complaint, and other workers referred to the area where many Black employees worked with racist slurs. Racist graffiti was common on restroom walls, lockers, even work machinery, including the N-word, “KKK,” sawstikas and the Confederate flag. Workers with tattoos of the Confederate flag allegedly made these visible “to intimidate” Black workers.
Black workers also faced discrimination in being denied promotions and assigned the most physically demanding jobs, according to the complaint. Bosses were quicker to discipline or fire Black workers for minor infractions than non-Black workers, the suit said.
“After receiving hundreds of complaints from workers, DFEH 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,” Kevin Kish, director of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, said in a statement. “The facts of this case speak for themselves.”
Tesla did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. In a blog post earlier this week in anticipation of the suit, the company said it intends to ask the court to pause the case. “Tesla strongly opposes all forms of discrimination and harassment,” the company said.
The blog post called the lawsuit “misguided” and said “the allegations focus on events from years ago,” from 2015 to 2019.