The federal agency claims Tesla violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
September 28, 2023, 7:52 p.m. ET
• 4 min reading
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit against Tesla on Thursday, accusing the company of racial harassment and discrimination.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, follows an EEOC investigation into Tesla’s treatment of Black employees.
The lawsuit, obtained by ABC News, alleges that since at least May 29, 2015, Tesla has violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by racially abusing Black employees at the company’s manufacturing facilities in Fremont, California I have been subjected to insults, stereotyping and hostility, including racial slurs.
The lawsuit alleges that Tesla violated federal law by “tolerating widespread and persistent racial harassment of its Black employees and subjecting some of those employees to retaliation for resisting the harassment,” the EEOC said in a filing Thursday published statement. “The Commission further alleges that Defendant unlawfully retaliated against Black employees who resisted actions that it claimed constituted unlawful employment discrimination.”
Established by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC is a federal agency dedicated to protecting civil rights in the workplace.
Tesla did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
According to a New York Times report, Tesla stated that it “strongly opposes any form of discrimination” in response to a separate discrimination lawsuit filed against Tesla by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in 2022.
The lawsuit also alleges that various racial slurs were routinely and occasionally used against Black employees, often in high-traffic areas.
According to the lawsuit, Tesla retaliated against employees who spoke out about the alleged harassment, including through changes in work duties and schedules, unfair attributions, termination and transfers.
The EEOC is asking, among other things, that the court order Tesla to pay back payments to victims and issue an injunction stopping the electric car maker from its allegedly discriminatory practices.
“Every employee deserves to have their civil rights respected, and no worker should endure the kind of shameful racial bigotry our investigation uncovered,” EEOC Chairwoman Charlotte A. Burrows said in a statement Thursday. “Today’s lawsuit makes clear that no company is above the law, and the EEOC will vigorously enforce federal civil rights protections to ensure that American workplaces are free from unlawful harassment and retaliation.”
The EEOC said it investigated Tesla after Burrow filed a lawsuit against Tesla alleging that Tesla violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 due to its alleged treatment of Black employees. The EEOC says it attempted to “reach a pre-litigation settlement through mediation” before filing the lawsuit.
“The allegations in this case are disturbing,” Roberta L. Steele, regional attorney for the EEOC San Francisco District Office, said in a statement. “No worker should have to endure racial harassment and retaliation to earn a living six decades after Title VII was enacted.”