Tesla asks California judge to pause race bias lawsuit

Tesla asked a California judge to pause a state agency’s lawsuit that alleges the electric automaker of widespread race discrimination at its flagship assembly plant, adding the state must expand its investigation into the claims and allow a chance to settle the litigation.

The automaker in a filing in state court in Oakland on Monday also informed that it is separately being investigated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and said California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) may have rushed to submit its lawsuit in February as part of a “turf war” with the federal agency.

In the filing, the automaker’s lawyers said DFEH carried out a “bare bones investigation” before suing, and did not share many worker complaints with the automaker until after the lawsuit was submitted. The automaker added that DFEH violated a state law which needs the agency to take various steps before suing an employer.

DFEH has not commented yet.

An EEOC spokesperson said the agency won’t comment on pending investigations.

The state agency in its lawsuit alleged Tesla of stimulating a “racially segregated workplace” at its plant in Fremont, California where Black workers were subjected to racial slurs and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline and pay.

The automaker is seeking to stay the lawsuit for 120 days and force DFEH to attempt to mediate the claims with the automaker outside of court.

A federal judge in California this month awarded $15 million to a former elevator operator of Tesla in a race bias case. The judge cut a $137 million jury verdict but said the plaintiff had shown enough evidence of racial abuse and the company’s failure to address it.