RTD Metro Business law columnist, Karen Michael.
Just a month after Tesla was hit with a $137 million punitive damage verdict for racial harassment, the company now has been accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed in California state court.
The lawsuit by a female factory worker describes a culture of sexual comments, groping and extremely troubling behaviors toward women with alleged notice of the behaviors to multiple levels of supervision.
“Although Tesla publicly claims that it fosters a safe and respectful environment for its workers, the truth is that for years Tesla has subjected women working in its Fremont [Calif.] plant to nightmarish conditions of rampant sexual harassment,” the female worker said in the lawsuit
The 38-year-old mother of two who works nights at the Tesla plant characterizes the factory floor as akin to a “crude, archaic construction site or a frat house.”
She alleges that the “pervasive culture of sexual harassment, which includes a daily barrage of sexist language and behavior, including frequent groping on the factor floor, is known to supervisors and managers and often perpetrated by them.”
Male co-workers, she said, made comments about her breasts and body, while her supervisor made derogatory comments about her and other female workers. She claims another manager propositioned her via text message, and another flirted with her and told her he controlled her career prospects.
