Tesla faces trial in California on racial discrimination charges

A California agency has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, accusing the company of allowing widespread racial discrimination at its main assembly plant.

The case begins to be judged this Monday (21) and is one of several similar processes faced by the electric vehicle manufacturer.

Lawyers for Tesla and the California Department of Civil Rights will face off in Oakland before state Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon. The trial is expected to last until October 30.

In the lawsuit filed in 2022, the California Department of Civil Rights claims that black workers at Tesla's Fremont factory were subjected to frequent harassment by other employees, including racist slurs and graffiti, and that the company took no steps to prevent or stop these practices.

Tesla is also accused of paying lower wages to black workers and limiting promotion opportunities.

The company and its lawyers did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Tesla denies the allegations and says it does not tolerate discrimination. According to the company, employees involved in inappropriate conduct were fired.

California Department of Civil Rights Director Kevin Kish said in a statement that the agency expects to hold Tesla accountable.

The repercussion of the case and the number of workers involved make it one of the main employment discrimination lawsuits against a large American company to reach the trial stage in recent years.

Borkon ruled that the trial will be held without a jury. This means it will be up to the judge himself to decide whether Tesla violated California civil rights laws.

Unlike federal law, California law prohibiting workplace discrimination does not set a limit on the damages that can be awarded to affected workers. If it loses the case, Tesla could have to pay millions of dollars.

Over the past ten years, Tesla has been the target of accusations that it allowed a hostile work environment for black employees at its Fremont factory and other sites.

The company also faces a lawsuit filed by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which accuses Tesla of allowing racial harassment, in addition to dozens of other lawsuits filed by workers with similar allegations.

The accusations brought by the Department of Civil Rights are broader and include the claim that the Fremont plant operated in a racially segregated manner, with black workers concentrated in lower-paying roles that were considered less desirable.

In a separate lawsuit last year, Borkon ruled that more than 6,000 black workers could not sue Tesla in a class action lawsuit. The decision reversed a previous determination and represented an important victory for the company.

Tesla also reached settlements in some individual lawsuits. One was filed by a former elevator operator at the Fremont plant, who was initially awarded $137 million in damages determined by a jury. The amount, however, was later reduced by a judge.