Tesla, Inc. Race Discrimination and Harassment Class Action Lawsuit

Tesla, Inc. Race Discrimination and Harassment Class Action Lawsuit

Vaughn v. Tesla, Inc. (Case Number RG17882082) is a certified, class action lawsuit brought by Marcus Vaughn, Titus McCaleb, Monica Chatman, Chanel Hendrix, and Garret Parker, Black former and current employees at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California. The case alleges widespread race discrimination and harassment, including the pervasive use of racially offensive language (like the “N-word”) by associates, leads, and supervisors. The lawsuit says that despite its knowledge of such conduct, Tesla has not taken sufficient action to stop the ongoing racism in its factory. The lawsuit seeks to stop the ongoing race discrimination and harassment at Tesla’s Fremont factory, to obtain meaningful compensation for current and former Black employees who were exposed to unlawful race harassment at Tesla, and to punish Tesla for its conduct. 

CLICK HERE if you are or were a Black and/or African American worker on Tesla’s Fremont factory production floor between November 9, 2016 and May 17, 2024, who experienced race harassment and wants to assert damages claims.

Background
Plaintiff Marcus Vaughn began working at Tesla’s Fremont factory on April 23, 2017 as a General Assembly Production Associate. Shortly thereafter, employees and supervisors began harassing him routinely on the basis of his race, and using derogatory language, including the "N-word," to refer to him. On July 21, 2017, Mr. Vaughn complained in writing to Human Resources and CEO Elon Musk about the hostile work environment. Tesla did not stop the unlawful conduct. Instead, Tesla terminated Mr. Vaughn on October 31, 2017 for “not having a positive attitude.” Plaintiffs McCaleb, Chatman, Hendrix, and Parker had similar experiences, with Tesla failing to address the race harassment at the factory.

On May 17, 2024, the Alameda Superior Court certified the case as a class action. The court noted that “[t]he approximately 500 declarations in support of and in opposition to this motion suggest that over a period of approximately eight years Tesla workers in the Fremont factory heard the n-word and otherwise experienced conditions that might reasonably be characterized as race harassment.”

The expected class action trial will address the following questions:
(1) Was there a pattern or practice of pervasive race harassment at Tesla's Fremont Factory? If so, for what time period or periods?
(2) For each of the time periods identified in response to question number 1, did Tesla know or should have known of the pattern or practice of pervasive race harassment at the Fremont factory?
(3) If Tesla knew or should have known that there was a pattern or practice of pervasive race harassment at the Fremont Factory for a time period identified in response to question number 2, did Tesla fail to take immediate and appropriate corrective action?

After the class trial, the plaintiffs intend to seek an injunction ordering Tesla to stop the harassment at its Fremont Factory. 

What’s Next

Black and/or African American employees who worked at Tesla between November 9, 2016 and May 17, 2024 have now received official class action notices with more information, describing the court’s decision and class members’ options. If you received this notice and did not opt-out, you remained a member of the class.

The Court decided that Class members MUST FILE an individual lawsuit to obtain damages after the class trial. For that reason, Class Counsel is asking those class members with harassment damages to sign representation agreements now – please CLICK HERE if you are interested in reviewing and signing the representation agreement. If the Plaintiffs are successful at class trial, class members may be able to use any beneficial findings from the class action at their individual trials for damages. 

Other Cases
The California Civil Rights Department ((CRD), formerly Department of Fair Employment and Housing), the state agency responsible for enforcing laws against discrimination in the workplace, filed a lawsuit on February 9, 2022 against Tesla alleging racial harassment, racial discrimination and retaliation (Case Number 22CV006830). The CRD is hoping to seek relief for all aggrieved employees who have worked at Tesla in California. Through its lawsuit, the CRD aims to hold Tesla accountable for ongoing race discrimination and harassment throughout California, including the Fremont factory. The CRD is seeking relief for all Black and African American employees who worked for Tesla anywhere in the state, which is a broader group of workers than the one involved in this case. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has also recently filed a federal lawsuit with similar claims.

If you identify as Black and/or African American, have been employed at Tesla’s Fremont factory between November 2016 and May 2024, and are interested in pursuing claims, please CLICK HERE. You can step forward to help fight race discrimination and harassment at Tesla and seek compensation for race harassment.