US agency sues Tesla for racial discrimination

San Francisco: The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DEFH) has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk-run Tesla, alleging systematic racial discrimination and harassment at its Fremont manufacturing plant in the State. The regulatory agency said it received several complaints on workplace issues at Tesla's Fremont factory, The Wall Street Journal reported late on Wednesday.

"After receiving hundreds of complaints from workers, DFEH found evidence that Tesla's Fremont factory is a racially segregated workplace where Black workers are subjected to racial slurs and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline, pay, and promotion creating a hostile work environment," the agency's director Kevin Kish said in a statement.

In a blog post, Tesla said that the lawsuit follows a three-year investigation during which the DFEH -- whose mission is supposedly to protect workers - "has never once raised any concern about current workplace practices at Tesla".

"Rather, the lawsuit appears focused on alleged misconduct by production associates at the Fremont factory that took place between 2015 and 2019," the electric car-maker said. "Tesla strongly opposes all forms of discrimination and harassment and has a dedicated Employee Relations team that responds to and investigates all complaints," it added.

Tesla is also the last remaining automobile manufacturer in California. The Fremont factory has a majority-minority workforce. "At a time when manufacturing jobs are leaving California, the DFEH has decided to sue Tesla instead of constructively working with us. This is both unfair and counterproductive, especially because the allegations focus on events from years ago," said Tesla.