A California judge has allowed nearly 6,000 Black workers to move forward with a class-action lawsuit against Tesla alleging widespread racism and discrimination at its Fremont factory.
The suit claims Black employees faced a hostile work environment involving frequent use of racial slurs by coworkers and managers who failed to address complaints of discrimination.
Tesla denies the allegations but the judge found sufficient evidence the company may have engaged in a pattern of not properly handling such issues.
The class-action trial will determine if Tesla failed to prevent harassment and take corrective action, which could lead to reforms being mandated, while individual plaintiffs pursue financial damages separately.
The ruling comes amid other bias cases facing Tesla.
