Tesla Inc cannot pause a California civil rights agency’s lawsuit accusing widespread race discrimination at the Fremont assembly plant while the carmaker separately challenges the agency’s ability to sue employers, a judge ruled on Wednesday.
California Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo in Oakland said during a hearing that the automaker could pursue its claim that the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) failed to satisfy various requirements before suing the company in February, but that staying the lawsuit would not be appropriate.
Tesla Inc on Tuesday alleged a California civil rights agency of rushing to take sue companies without conducting proper investigations, an attempt to go on the offensive as the electric automaker faces claims of widespread race bias at a Tesla factory.
The automaker in a 10-page complaint informed California’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) that the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has embraced “underground regulations” that flout requirements it must satisfy before suing employers.
DFEH in a February lawsuit alleged Tesla’s flagship Fremont plant to be a racially segregated workplace where Black workers were discriminated against in terms of job assignments, discipline and pay.
Tuesday’s complaint comes as an attempt to rein in DFEH’s authority to pursue the cases of discrimination by forcing the agency to take more steps before suing, such as providing businesses with details of alleged legal violations and making efforts to settle outside of court.
A California state judge on Tuesday said he would likely reject the automaker’s motion to pause the lawsuit while the OAL considers the company’s new complaint.
A state judge in April had awarded $15 million to a Black person who formerly worked as an elevator operator at Fremont plant as he was subjected to severe racial harassment.
Tesla has so far rejected wrongdoing and said the DFEH’s lawsuit was politically motivated.
