A California judge has tentatively ruled that about 6,000 black factory workers can collectively sue Tesla over the electric car maker’s failure to address rampant racial discrimination and harassment at its Fremont factory. .
Judge Noel Wise of California’s Oakland Superior Court said in a written order issued Wednesday that the lawsuit requires Elon Musk’s Tesla to be aware of the alleged wrongdoing and take steps to prevent it. He said it raises a question common to all black factory workers: whether they refused to do so.
Marcus Vaughan, a former assembly line worker named as a plaintiff, first filed the lawsuit in 2017, alleging that Black factory workers were subjected to a variety of racist acts, including slurs, graffiti, and nooses hung in their workplaces. woke up.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Mr Vaughn’s lawyer Lawrence Organ said he was “encouraged” by the verdict and looked forward to developing a trial plan for the case.
“I believe the numerous complaints to date demonstrate how Tesla has failed to prevent racial harassment of Black employees,” Organ said in an email.
Tesla does not tolerate harassment in the workplace and claims it has terminated employees found to have engaged in racial harassment.
The preliminary ruling was announced ahead of a hearing scheduled for Friday, where Tesla could challenge Wise’s decision, but is typically unlikely to change a judge’s mind.
This decision is a major blow to Tesla as it could result in a multi-million dollar judgment against Tesla.
This class includes people who identify as Black and worked at the Fremont plant until November 2016.
Wise said he plans to hold a trial in the case starting in October, at which time he will also preside over a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Civil Rights regarding similar claims against Tesla.
Tesla also faces a racial discrimination lawsuit in federal court in California from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal anti-discrimination laws.
Tesla is moving to dismiss or suspend the lawsuit, arguing that other lawsuits need to be resolved first.
Meanwhile, the company is appealing a $3.2 million jury verdict awarded to a black former elevator operator at its Fremont plant in a separate racial harassment case.
The worker, Owen Diaz, had won a $137 million jury verdict at his first trial in 2021, but a judge ruled the reward was excessive and ordered a new trial. .
