Tesla resolved a legal case with a former factory worker who claimed she was dismissed for reporting severe sexual harassment and workplace injury.
Dismissal of Tyonna Turner's Lawsuit
US District Judge William Orrick dismissed Tyonna Turner's lawsuit on Monday, just a day after she and Tesla informed him of their private settlement, which seems to be the first among several cases filed against Tesla's Fremont, California assembly plant since 2021, including alleged harassment of black and female workers.
Tesla has denied wrongdoing in these cases, and Turner's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Turner's Harassment Lawsuit
Tyonna Turner was hired as a production associate in Tesla's Fremont manufacturing facility in November 2020. They signed an arbitration agreement, agreeing to resolve any disputes, claims, or causes of action related to her employment or its termination through arbitration.
In the lawsuit, Turner alleged that she was harassed about 100 times during her nearly two years at the Fremont plant, which the company took no action to address despite reporting to her supervisors in March 2021 and January 2022. After the alleged harassment, Turner specified that a male coworker made inappropriate comments about her appearance, invited her to his apartment and that she was followed and stalked for several months. According to Turner, a supervisor dismissed her concerns and said that was just how people are.
Turner also claimed that she experienced three workplace injuries while working at Tesla, which resulted in adverse actions from the company. Turner reported this harassment and was subsequently fired in September 2022, which she believed was retaliation for reporting the harassment and a workplace injury.
Apart from these claims, Turner stated that Tesla did not pay her wages as required by the California Labor Code upon termination, which she argued was separate from her other allegations, factually and legally.
Tesla Moving The Case to Arbitration
After transferring the case to federal court, Tesla sought to enforce arbitration and proposed that Turner's claims unrelated to sexual harassment should be separated and resolved through arbitration while the remaining claims should be put on hold pending arbitration. However, Judge Orrick rejected Tesla's attempt to move the case to private arbitration in August, citing a 2022 federal law that prohibits mandatory arbitration of sexual harassment and assault claims.
Tesla's Widespread Racial Discrimination Allegations
Tesla also currently faces a series of lawsuits over alleged racial discrimination at the Fremont plant and other facilities, claims from a US anti-discrimination agency, a separate case by its California counterpart, and a class action lawsuit on behalf of 6,000 Black workers who were subjected to constant racial slurs and graffiti, assigned less desirable jobs, and retaliated against for complaining.
Tesla has stated that it does not tolerate discrimination and has fired workers found to have engaged in racist conduct.
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