Brutal persecution of black people. Tesla is sued in the US for racial discrimination
On September 28, the U.S. Civil Rights Agency filed a lawsuit against Tesla, accusing the company of brutal harassment of African-American employees at its factory in Fremont, California.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said in a lawsuit that since 2015, black workers at Tesla’s plant have been regularly subjected to racist insults and graffiti, including swastikas and nooses. Black employees complained to the company, but Tesla did not investigate the complaints and fired or otherwise retaliated against employees who reported the harassment, the EEOC said in its lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, the EEOC seeks compensation for black employees and punitive damages for the company, and orders Tesla to revise its policies prohibiting discrimination and retaliation.
Tesla’s accusations are also supported by the California Department of Civil Rights, which claims that Tesla discriminated against black employees in terms of pay, promotion, and hiring. The Department’s lawsuit alleges violations of California law, while the EEOC’s lawsuit alleges violations of similar federal laws.
Tesla claimed that the California Department’s lawsuit was politically motivated, and that the Department violated state law by failing to notify the company of all claims and give it a chance to settle them.
In her statement, EEOC Chairwoman Charlotte Burroughs noted that combating widespread harassment in the workplace is a key priority for the commission.
“Every employee deserves to have their civil rights respected, and no employee should have to endure the kind of shameful racial bigotry that our investigation has uncovered,” she said.
Last year, Tesla was already accused of violating the federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in the workplace, and the EEOC tried to reach a settlement with the company, but failed, the lawsuit says.
