A former police officer and former head of security at Tesla’s Fremont plant in the United States is suing over systematic violations of the law at the company.
Ozell Murray’s lawsuit against Tesla alleges that there were cases of sexual violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and racism at the plant.
According to the 159-page federal lawsuit, which was reported by The Independent and Futurism, The officer’s team regularly confiscated cocaine, fentanyl, and weapons at the plant. The officers also investigated «acts of sexual deviance» and sent employees home for being under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
«Big profits have always been more important to a company than a healthy work environment. For Tesla, more bodies on the production line meant more cars rolling out of the factory door — no matter how dirty the hands that assembled those cars were», — the complaint says.
The lawsuit filed by Murray and his former colleagues states that those who reported problems were fired on false charges or forced to resign. He claims that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was personally involved in many of these hiring and firing decisions.
«Musk visited the facility frequently — and not only to take high-level photos, but also to directly manage, direct, and facilitate the resolution of production and human resource issues at the plant. Musk frequently visited the plant and held problem-solving meetings with line workers, not just senior management. Musk met with employees from all parts of the plant (from the production line to operations and human resources) and immediately issued orders to resolve problems raised by employees».
The lawsuit is about «hastily hired and poorly vetted» employees in Fremont who it describes as «outright racist and misogynistic».
«Many who have worked there have compared it to the Jim Crow South. An environment in which employees of color and people of other races are subjected to racial slurs, stereotypes, and hostility, including the repeated use of what is arguably the most brutal and degrading racial slur in human history: «N****r». …Black Tesla employees regularly reported seeing nooses on desks and other equipment, as well as graffiti with the n-word on walls, in restrooms, elevators — even on new Tesla cars coming off the assembly line».
A black female security officer under Murray’s command was verbally abused and took medical leave to recover. Murray’s supervisor at the time said that what happened was “an entrenched norm” and should be accepted.
«However, instead of encouraging him, Murray’s supervisor… told him that Murray should inform all new black security officers that the use of the «N-word is simply ingrained in Tesla’s culture, and therefore Murray should only hire those who are willing to accept and agree to the prevalence of the» word in the workplace.
In another case described, a black assembly line worker shouted out to a white colleague because of the latter’s actions that could have damaged a car being assembled. instead, he received the response: «Do you want to hang from a tree?».
Middle managers at the plant also used the zero-tolerance policy for alcohol and drugs to retaliate against colleagues.
«It turned out that many supervisors and managers simply used this policy as a means of retaliation against their subordinates, in particular when a line-level employee rejected a supervisor’s or manager’s sexual advances. Or when a supervisor wanted to retaliate against someone because of their race or ethnicity. Or when a supervisor wanted to retaliate against someone because of a complaint filed against them by an employee».
At the same time, those who were fired for genuine violations were later rehired — due to the high demand for cars and the busy work schedule. This was made possible by temporary employment agencies. This form of employment made it possible to circumvent the usual background checks. «Often» This meant that the victim of insults was forced to work with their abuser again. One such employee, who had previously been fired for workplace violence, returned and immediately attacked his colleague.
Murray spoke frankly with Tesla’s management about safety issues in Fremont. For this, he was «fired without warning under the pretext of «poor performance», although he had never been disciplined and had been promoted five times in his six years with the company.
The co-plaintiffs also had a similar experience: they were fired allegedly for «poor performance». Each of them raised serious questions about problems at Tesla or investigated and substantiated employee misconduct. Their were fired almost immediately or forced to resign themselves before it could happen.
The lawsuit against Tesla was filed on five grounds, including retaliation, unlawful dismissal, and failure to prevent unlawful discrimination. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for damages, non-pecuniary damage, punitive damages, and reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and court costs.
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: