More than 100 African American employees have filed a lawsuit against American automaker, Tesla, claiming that the production floor at the company's Freemont, California manufacturing facility, is a “hotbed for racist behavior” where black employees suffer severe and pervasive harassment.
In addition to asking for an order for Tesla to implement policies to prevent and correct the alleged harassment, the employees are seeking unspecified general and punitive monetary damages.
“Although Tesla stands out as a groundbreaking company at the forefront of the electric car revolution, its standard operating procedure at the Tesla factory is pre-civil rights era race discrimination,” the employees said in the complaint filed Monday in California’s Alameda County Superior Court.
According to The Washington Post, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of Marcus Vaughn, a former employee at the Fremont factory from April 23 to Oct. 31, who alleged that employees and supervisors regularly used the N-word around him and other black colleagues. After filing a written complaint with human resources, Vaughn was fired last month for “not having a positive attitude.”
Tesla has yet to issue a statement regarding the impending lawsuit.