A California judge recently tentatively ruled that nearly 6,000 Black employees can sue Tesla for its lack of addressing racial discrimination and harrassment in the workplace.
On Wednesday, Oakland’s Superior Court Judge Noel Wise handed out a written order that, with their lawsuits, the employees are in fact raising concerns that Tesla was aware of racial discrimination and did nothing to combat it.
According to the judge, there was a “pattern” that all Black workers at the Fremont plant were subjected to discrimination.
The decision stems back to a lawsuit first filed in 2017. Per assembly line worker Marcus Vaughn, Black employees at the Fremont plant were on the receiving end of slurs.
Their workstations were also polluted with racist graffiti and nooses that were hung. When the employees reported the cases to human resources, the company failed to take action.
Moving forward Judge Wise declared that, if it goes to trial, the case will have two parts. In the first part, the jury will determine whether Tesla set standards in the company to prevent discrimination.
If Tesla is found liable, the case will continue for the workers to seek damages.
In an email to Reuters, the lawyer for Vaughan, Lawrence Organ, showed his approval of the judge’s latest decision and enforced his confidence with the case.
“I think the numerous complaints over time show how Tesla failed to prevent racial harassment of its Black employees,” said Organ.
The judge’s decision comes months after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that they also filed a lawsuit against Tesla.
Filed in Oct., the EEOC’s lawsuit also alleges that the company did nothing to prevent or address racial discrimination faced by Black employees in the Fremont plant.
Legal action was taken after an investigation was conducted on the EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrow’s commissioner’s charge. Burrows claimed that the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Proposed by President John F. Kennedy and passed by the House of Representatives on Feb. 10, 1964, the law prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion and disability when it comes to employment.
Through the lawsuit, the EEOC is looking to receive damages and back pay for the workers that were harassed. The commision is also seeking to create changes in employment practices to prevent any future discrimination.
“The allegations in this case are disturbing,” said the EEOC San Francisco District Office Regional Attorney Roberta L. Steele. “No worker should have to endure racial harassment and retaliation to earn a living six decades after the enactment of Title VII.”
