Oakland: Tesla is facing a major California trial over allegations that Black workers experienced racial discrimination and harassment at the company’s Fremont assembly plant.
The case brought by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) is being heard in Oakland before Peter Borkon, state Superior Court Judge. The bench trial is scheduled to continue until October 30. Borkon will decide whether Tesla is liable for violations of California civil rights laws.
The lawsuit, filed in 2022, alleges that Black workers at the Fremont plant faced repeated racial harassment. The claims include racial slurs and graffiti. CRD also alleges that Tesla failed to prevent or stop the conduct.
The agency has further accused Tesla of paying Black workers less than other employees and limiting opportunities for promotion. The lawsuit contains broader claims that the Fremont plant was racially segregated. Black workers were allegedly assigned to some of the lowest-paid and least desirable jobs.
CRD Director Kevin Kish noted that the agency intends to hold Tesla accountable. The case involves thousands of workers and is among the significant employment discrimination cases against a major US company to reach trial in recent years.
California law does not place a damages cap on workplace discrimination claims in the same way as federal law. Tesla could therefore face millions of dollars in damages if the court finds the company liable.
Tesla faces race discrimination claims for about a decade involving the Fremont plant and other facilities. The company is also defending a lawsuit from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over alleged racial harassment. Dozens of individual workers have filed similar lawsuits.
In a separate case last year, Borkon ruled that more than 6,000 Black workers could not pursue claims against Tesla as a class. The decision reversed an earlier ruling and represented a major legal victory for the company.
The California case now places allegations involving harassment, pay and workplace opportunities before the court as Tesla continues to face multiple legal challenges related to treatment of Black workers.
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