Tesla will have to defend itself against claims of foreign worker abuse
A federal judge has ruled that Tesla and two of its subcontractors --
Eisenmann Corp and ISM Vuzem -- will have to defend themselves in a
lawsuit that alleges foreign workers were mistreated at Tesla's Fremont
factory. The allegations surfaced in 2016, when Gregor Lesnik filed a
lawsuit against Tesla and its subcontractors that claimed they exploited
foreign workers by paying them less than minimum wage, giving them few
days off and threatening them with deportation or no pay when they
called in sick or tried to report a job injury. The suit, which seeks
class action status, is being brought forward on behalf of workers with
B-1 visas employed at construction sites and auto plants.
In her ruling earlier this week, Judge Lucy Koh dismissed five out the
suit's seven claims, which meant other automakers, including
Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW, which were originally listed as
defendants, were dropped from the suit. However, she denied Tesla's and
Eisenmann Corp's motions to dismiss, saying even if the alleged misdeeds
were committed by ISM Vuzem, because the others financially benefited
from those actions, they were liable as well.
This isn't the only complaint made against Tesla regarding labor issues.
The US National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against the
company last year and a report released in April detailed claims that
Tesla was undercounting injuries sustained by workers at its factory in
Fremont, California -- an allegation that California's Division of
Occupational Safety and Health began investigating soon thereafter. The
National Council for Occupational Safety has also named Tesla one of the
most dangerous places to work in the US.
Allegations of worker mistreatment have also come alongside claims of racial harassment, LGBTQ discrimination and sexism.
Tesla sent TechCrunch the following statement regarding the claims made in the lawsuit:
"At Tesla, we operate on the principles of fairness, justice and
kindness. Whether people work for the company, one of our contractors or
a subcontractor, we expect them to act ethically and follow these same
principles.
"Gregor Lesnik was brought to the Tesla factory by a company called
ISM Vuzem, a subcontractor brought in by Eisenmann, the firm that we
hired to construct our new paint shop. We contracted with Eisenmann not
because we thought they were less expensive -- they weren't -- but
because they were regarded as one of the best, if not the best, in the
world at building paint shops. As far as the law goes, Tesla did
everything correctly. We hired a contractor to do a turnkey project at
our factory and, as we always do in these situations, contractually
obligated them to comply with all laws in bringing in the resources they
felt were needed to do the job.
"While we were not aware at the time, we've since learned that a
subcontractor they used, ISM Vuzem, was not living up to our
expectations. Had we known then that they were not doing the right
thing, we would have removed them from our factory immediately. This
subcontractor no longer works on Tesla projects. We've also further
improved our supplier contracts and policies to better stop bad
behavior. Contractors must of course follow the law, but that's not
enough. They must also act morally and do what's right. Had there been
something else we could have done differently or better in this
situation, we would have done it."
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