The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Tesla on Thursday, accusing the automaker of violating federal law by tolerating widespread and ongoing racial harassment of its Black employees and subjecting some workers to retaliation for opposing the harassment.
The lawsuit from the federal agency responsible for enforcing civil rights laws against workplace discrimination is one of several lawsuits against Tesla over racial bias. The California Department of Civil Rights sued Tesla in 2022 over similar allegations. In April, a jury ordered Tesla to pay $3.2 million to a former black worker, Owen Diaz, in damages after it was found that Tesla had allowed severe racial harassment at its Fremont assembly plant.
In April 2022, Tesla disclosed in a financial filing that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had an “open investigation” into the company. Tesla has engaged in a mandatory reconciliation process with the agency. That process was not successful, leading to the lawsuit being filed on Thursday.
The EEOC alleges that from at least 2015 to the present, Black employees at the same plant have suffered “severe or widespread racial harassment” and a “hostile work environment.”
Specifically, the profile details stereotyping and hostility, such as calling him “lazy,” “smelly,” and “always late.” They also claim they were subjected to insults and nicknames such as variations of the N-word, “monkey,” “boy” and “black bitch.” The lawsuit alleges that these insults were used casually and in high-traffic areas and worker centers.
“I saw KKK epithets, swastikas, and the N-word all over the bathroom,” one black worker was quoted as saying in the lawsuit. “It was so scandalous and racist that I didn’t want to discuss it. He would say: ‘Kill the blacks,’ ‘Kill the slurs,’ ‘Hang the blacks,’ ‘Hang the slurs.'”
Black workers who spoke to the EEOC said such graffiti, which also included images of nooses, could be found on a variety of surfaces, including on desks, in elevators, and on equipment, including vehicles rolling off production lines. .
“Supervisors and managers witnessed racially abusive behavior, but failed or refused to mediate,” the lawsuit states. “Black employees reported insults, insults, graffiti, and misconduct to Tesla’s human resources, employee relations, and administrative staff. . . . Tesla has failed and refused to take steps to address this behavior.”
Furthermore, Tesla allegedly fired black employees within weeks of them reporting or opposing racial harassment.
“After I expressed my displeasure [about the harassment]“I started writing about every little thing that was previously acceptable, like listening to music while working,” says one black worker.
The lawsuit accuses Tesla of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, amended in 1991, which requires employers to correct illegal practices based on race and provide appropriate relief to affected individuals.
“When you let a standard slip, you set a new standard. Determining that copious racial slurs don’t merit serious discipline and failing to correct harassing behavior sends exactly the wrong message to employees,” Nancy Cinco, director of the EEOC’s San Francisco district office, said in a statement. “It also violates the employer’s legal responsibility to act quickly and effectively to stop race-based harassment.”
Tesla dissolved its press department in 2020 and could not be reached for comment.
The EEOC is requesting a jury trial and asking the court to order Tesla to pay damages to the affected individuals, as well as fines for violating the law. The agency is also asking the court to grant a permanent injunction to Tesla’s management that has engaged in racism and allowed it to flourish, and to order Tesla to develop and implement policies to address the situation and protect Black workers in the future.
The lawsuit — EEOC v. Tesla, Inc., Case No. 4:23-cv-04984 — was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.