Tesla workers file new suit alleging racial discrimination

July 1 (UPI) -- A group of current and former Black employees at Tesla sued the company this week, alleging racial discrimination at the company's Fremont, California factory. The alleged taunts included the n-word and racist slurs scrawled on restroom walls a the factory.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the workers said in the lawsuit, filed Thursday, that they were subjected to offensive racist comments and offensive racist behavior and discipline by colleagues, leads, supervisors, managers, and/or Human Resources personnel on a daily basis.

Plaintiff's complaints include Black employees being referred to as "Blackies" and "Darkies" and use of the n-word on a regular basis, according to plaintiff Teri Mitchell.

The Chronicle quoted plaintiff attorney Mike Arias who said hearing story after story of employees being subjected to that treatment is almost unbelievable.

The state of California filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against Tesla in February based on similar complaints by hundreds of Tesla workers.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing said that it found evidence that the Tesla factory in Fremont is a racially segregated workplace where Black workers are subjected to racial slurs and discrimination on the job.

The suit against Tesla said racial slurs were allegedly scrawled on Tesla restroom walls, including the n-word and "KKK."

In 2021, a federal jury in California awarded a former Tesla contract worker $137 million in a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination at the Fremont Tesla factory. A federal judge later reduced that to $15 million.