A California judge has ruled that about 6,000 black workers at Tesla Inc.’s Fremont factory can file a class action lawsuit alleging racism and discrimination.
ars technica report Alameda County Superior Court Judge Noel Wise on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit, which was first filed in 2017, as a class action lawsuit on behalf of approximately 5,977 Black employees who worked at the plant from November 2016 to the present. He issued a preliminary judgment allowing the case to proceed.
The lawsuit alleges that Tesla “has not used terms such as ‘N**r,’ ‘N*a,’ and other racially derogatory terms, including the routine use of “They created an intimidating, hostile and aggressive work environment.” , racist treatment and imagery. To support their case, the plaintiffs submitted statements from 240 people who said they heard racial slurs at the factory, some of whom complained to management about discrimination.
Tesla denied the allegations, providing independent statements from 228 employees who said they saw no such discrimination or harassment. Tesla said he has a tracking system in place to record and respond to complaints of discrimination.
The judge found sufficient common evidence that Tesla may have committed a pattern of failing to adequately address discrimination and harassment. However, the amount of damages must be determined individually for each class member, not collectively.
The class action trial will unfold in two stages. First, the jury will determine whether there was a pattern of “failures” at Tesla.[ing] “taking all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring” and failing to take “immediate and appropriate remedial action.” In that case, a court could issue an injunction requiring Tesla to improve its policies.
The second phase allows each class member to individually seek economic damages in a jury trial using the first phase findings as evidence. Tesla may argue that the claims should be pursued in arbitration.
The ruling comes as Tesla faces a similar bias lawsuit from the California Department of Civil Rights. Tesla has also faced other high-profile racial discrimination lawsuits, including a $137 million judgment in former employee Owen Diaz’s case that was later reduced to $15 million.
Tesla called the first lawsuit “a breeding ground for misinformation.” After investigating Diaz’s claims, the company said it had fired three employees, saying it was a “fair and just response.” The preliminary judgment authorizing the class action lawsuit will be finalized after a hearing on March 3.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
