A California administrative agency has declined to review Tesla’s claim that the state’s civil rights watchdog suing the company for racial bias at an assembly plant is rushing to sue businesses without first conducting a full investigation.
This means that Tesla has lost in its accusation that a California civil rights agency did not conduct proper investigations into the company before using it. Tesla attempted to go on the offensive as the electric car maker faces claims of widespread race bias at an assembly plant.
The world’s richest man Elon Musk is the co-founder and CEO of Tesla.
In June, Tesla filed a 10-page complaint that told California’s Office of Administrative Law that the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing had adopted “underground regulations” that disregard requirements it must meet before suing employers.
Tesla said the Department of Fair Employment sued without first notifying the company of all of the claims or before giving Tesla a chance to settle.
This came in response to a February lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing against Tesla’s flagship in Fremont, California plant, saying the plant was a racially segregated workplace where Black workers were harassed and discriminated against in terms of job assignments, discipline and pay.
The Office of Administrative Law is responsible for reviewing state agency regulations and can recommend changes. The agency did not give a reason for the denial but said Tesla can still pursue its claims in court.
Tesla’s petition with was an attempt by the car maker to rein in the department’s authority to pursue discrimination cases by forcing it to take additional steps before suing, such as providing businesses with detailed explanations of alleged legal violations and making efforts to settle outside of court.
The road does not end here for Tesla, striving to get the lawsuit thrown out. A California state judge is scheduled to hold a hearing tomorrow on Tesla’s motion to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit is one of several pending in California courts that accuse Tesla of tolerating discrimination and sexual harassment at its factories.
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