Discrimination of any kind is illegal in California workplaces. Unfortunately, many employees still face it as their employers fail to take measures to prevent or punish it. One such company is Tesla, which is now facing yet another racial discrimination lawsuit.
The EEOC takes action against Tesla
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against electric car company Tesla for continuous discrimination and harassment of Black employees. According to the suit, since 2015, Black employees faced constant discrimination and abuse, enduring racially offensive slurs and phrases. They were also subjected to equally offensive graffiti and objects in public areas like elevators and bathroom stalls; many were also threatened while they performed their jobs.
In addition to discrimination, the employees also faced workplace retaliation. According to the victims, they saw their jobs changed, were transferred to different work locations and even faced unfair termination tactics. Some employees recalled the behavior as being deemed normal among the mostly white males perpetrating it.
Tesla allegedly fails to protect its workers
According to Black Tesla employees, much of the discrimination was done out in the open and was witnessed by supervisors. Unfortunately, those higher-ups failed to take appropriate action or even reprimand the abusers. The company also failed to investigate complaints made by Black employees and didn’t even have an anti-discrimination policy in place. One Black worker who spoke up about the discrimination and harassment she faced said that she was fired in retaliation.
Tesla received a letter that warned about the lawsuit a month before it was filed, but it failed to respond. The EEOC later attempted to reach a settlement with the company, but that was unsuccessful. Its lawsuit seeks both compensatory and punitive damages for the victims and demands that the company take action to prevent future discrimination.