Tesla Must Be Sued For Racial Discrimination By 6,000 American Workers

(CTN News) – The state of California has tentatively ruled that approximately 6,000 Black factory workers at Tesla’s Fremont facility may sue the company.

According a written order issued on Wednesday, California Superior Court Judge Noel Wise in Oakland reported the lawsuit raises questions common to all Black workers at the manufacturing facility as to whether Tesla was aware of the alleged misconduct and failed to prevent it.

In response to requests for comment on Thursday, neither nor the plaintiff’s lawyers responded immediately.

Former assembly line worker Marcus Vaughn filed a lawsuit in 2017 alleging that he was subjected to a variety of racist behaviors, including racist slurs, graffiti and nooses hanging at his workstation.

A Tesla spokesperson has stated that the company does not tolerate workplace harassment and has fired employees who have engaged in racial harassment.

There will be a hearing scheduled for Friday where can challenge Wise’s decision, though judges typically do not change their minds.

This decision represents a major blow for Tesla,

Since it opens the company up to a potentially multimillion-dollar judgment. As part of the class, there are individuals who self-identified as Black and worked at the Fremont factory as far back as November 2016.

A trial in the case is expected to begin in October, when Wise will also preside over a trial involving similar claims against Tesla filed by a California state civil rights agency.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal anti-discrimination laws, has also filed race bias claims against Tesla in federal court in California. Attempts have been made by Tesla to dismiss that case or to pause it, arguing that the other lawsuits should be resolved first.

Meanwhile, the company is appealing a jury verdict of $3.2 million awarded in a separate racial harassment case against a Black former elevator operator at the Fremont plant. After an initial trial in 2021, Owen Diaz was awarded $137 million by a jury, but a judge ordered a second trial after deciding the award to be excessive.

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