A Black former Tesla employee wants to add hundreds of Black workers to a lawsuit he filed against the company in 2017 for racist behavior—240 deep to be exact.
Recently Marcus Vaughn requested class-action status for his lawsuit against Tesla. Vaughn’s request is supported by 240 Black workers who said they also endured racist treatment at the company, according to Fortune. A hearing is scheduled for July 14.
Vaughn and hundreds of Black employees and contractors accused the company of condoning racist behavior as part of the company’s “pattern and practice of race discrimination,” BET reported. The suit states that Black workers endured harsh treatment including racial slurs, racist graffiti, unequal pay, and blocked career advancement. He referred to the environment as a “hotbed for racist behavior.”
BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported that former Black human resources manager, Karen Draper, sued Tesla claiming she was fired after she refused to illegally terminate another worker allegedly targeted by a white manager.
In a prior instance, Tesla was ordered to pay $3.2 million to Owen Diaz in April 2023, according to The Guardian. Diaz said he experienced racial harassment and was awarded the sum for emotional damages and punitive damages. Diaz claimed in his suit that swastikas and derogatory drawings of Black children were visible in work areas.
The Department of Fair Employment and Housing in California determined several accusations of racist treatment to be true after investigating the company for three years. The department sued Tesla in 2022.
In 2022, Raina Pierce sued Tesla for disregarding her concerns about rampant racism at the Fremont plant. Pierce stated that Latino and White coworkers casually used the N-word. She also claimed in her racial discrimination lawsuit that a manager would greet employees by saying, “Welcome to the slave house.”
BLACK ENTERPRISE reported in April 2022, that a number of Black employees were allegedly “moved to the back of the plant” when Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, would visit.