Tesla has been hit by another racial discrimination lawsuit by a Black former human resources manager.
Karen Draper, 47, was allegedly fired just seven months after she started over her refusal to illegally fire a Latina worker.
A report from Silicon Valley states that Draper’s resistance against the task to terminate the Latina’s employment, along with “race-based animus and bias against Black women” at Tesla got her fired.
This lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in San Francisco.
This case comes as Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, faces many other racial discrimination lawsuits over instances occurring at company premises.
Last year, Tesla called a lawsuit “unfair” and “misguided” after the company was accused of paying Black workers less than White workers. A civil rights regulator also accused Tesla of denying Black employees of advancements.
Alan Price, CEO at BrightHR, says:
“Whilst this case was based in America, which has different employment rules and laws, similar principles apply here in the UK. Namely, race is covered as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, so where an employee is treated less favourably as a result of their race, they will be able to raise a tribunal claim for race discrimination. Such claims are afforded unlimited compensation so payments where they are successful can be substantial.
“Therefore, businesses must ensure they are doing everything possible to facilitate a working environment which promotes genuine equality, diversity and inclusion, and protects against any form of bullying, discrimination or harassment through training, policies, and unbiased hiring practices.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.