The US federal labor enforcement agency (EEOC) filed a complaint against Tesla on Thursday, accusing the electric car maker of racially motivated harassment, a year and a half after California filed similar lawsuits against Elon Musk’s company. .
Tesla violated “federal law by tolerating widespread and ongoing racial harassment of its black employees and subjecting some of these workers to retaliation for resisting the harassment,” the EEOC said in a statement.
Employees “regularly insulted” since 2015
According to the complaint filed in San Francisco, “since at least 2015,” black employees at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, have been regularly subjected to insults such as “monkey,” “boy,” and the “N-word” (a referring to the derogatory term for blacks), a term that has become socially unpronounceable for whites in the United States.
“The insults were used casually in crowded areas,” the press release details, before continuing:
“Black employees routinely encountered graffiti, including variations of the ‘N’ word, swastikas, threats and nooses, on desks and other equipment, in bathrooms, elevators and even on new vehicles coming off the production line.
The EEOC states that it tried to reach an agreement with the company, without success. The agency is now seeking damages, back pay for affected workers, and a court order to force Tesla to change its practices.
The manufacturer, whose headquarters have been in Texas since the end of 2021, did not immediately respond to an AFP request.
“Hundreds of complaints from workers”
In February 2022, California had already filed a complaint against this factory for racial discrimination. “After receiving hundreds of complaints from workers, DFEH found evidence (…) of racial segregation,” said the California state agency in charge of investigating cases of discrimination.
“Factory employees referred to areas where many African Americans worked as the ‘porch monkey station,’” the state of California complaint said.
“Tesla firmly opposes all forms of discrimination and harassment and has a dedicated employee relations team to respond to and investigate all complaints,” the group said in a news release.
Last April, a jury reduced the compensation that Tesla must pay to a former employee who was a victim of racism from $15 million to $3.2 million. Forklift operator Owen Diaz won his lawsuit against the Fremont factory in October 2021.
Source: BFM TV
