Tesla settles sexual harassment lawsuit by factory worker

US EV maker Tesla has settled a lawsuit by a former factory employee who alleged that she was fired by the company for complaining about severe sexual harassment, Reuters reported. The electric carmaker has a series of sex and race discrimination lawsuits pending against it. Soon after Tyonna Turner and Tesla informed the district judge of the settlement, Judge William Orrick in San Francisco dismissed the 2023 lawsuit. However, the terms of settlement were not disclosed.

Turner was employed at Tesla's flagship assembly plant in Fremont, California, where the company is accused in a number of lawsuits of failing to address rampant harassment of Black and female workers. This appears to be the first settlement in a series of sexual harassment cases filed against the company since 2021. Both representatives of Tesla and Turner did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Reuters.

The lawsuit by Turner had alleged that in the nearly two years that she worked at the Fremont plant, she was harassed about 100 times. This included stalking by a male coworker who often followed her around the factory. She claimed that when she complained, a supervisor told her, "That's just how people are." Following this, in September 2022, Turner was fired in retaliation for reporting the harassment and a workplace injury.

Last August, judge Orrick rejected Tesla's bid to send the case to private arbitration, citing a 2022 federal law that bars mandatory arbitration of sexual harassment and assault claims. At least six other cases pending against Tesla in California state court are similar to what Turner's lawsuit alleged.

Other lawsuits faced by Tesla include tolerance of widespread racial discrimination at the Fremont plant and other facilities, including claims from a US anti-discrimination agency. There is a separate case by its California counterpart and a class action on behalf of 6,000 Black workers which claim that they were subjected to constant racial slurs and graffiti.

The lawsuits also allege that they were assigned less desirable jobs and retaliated against for complaining. However, Tesla has said it does not tolerate discrimination and has fired workers who were found to have engaged in racist conducts.