Fifteen "black" former or current Tesla employees have filed a lawsuit against the electric car manufacturer, claiming they faced racist abuse and harassment at its factories.
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The employees said they were subjected to offensive racist comments and behavior from co-workers, managers and human resources employees on a regular basis, according to the lawsuit filed in California state court.
The harassment, which allegedly occurred primarily at Tesla's Fremont, California, factory, included the use of the N-word and terms like "slavery" and making sexual comments, the lawsuit alleges. It alleges that the auto industry include blatant, open and unrestricted racial discrimination."
Some of the plaintiffs were placed in the most demanding positions at Tesla, according to the lawsuit. Montieco Justice, a production associate at Tesla's Fremont factory, was demoted immediately after returning to Tesla after being on leave due to contracting Covid-19.
The automaker is facing at least 10 lawsuits alleging widespread racial discrimination or sexual harassment, including one from a California.
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The company has denied wrongdoing and says it has policies in place to prevent and address inappropriate behavior in the workplace .
On Monday, a federal judge in California ordered a new trial for damages Tesla owes a black former factory worker who accused the company of racial discrimination, after rejecting a previous compensation award.
See also: Musk: Tesla factories in Berlin and Texas are losing billions of dollars
This month, a Tesla shareholder filed a lawsuit accusing CEO Elon Musk and the company's board of directors of ignoring employee complaints and encouraging a toxic workplace culture .
Source of information: theguardian.com
