Racial discrimination has no place in our society. Unfortunately, however, discrimination of all kinds, including racial discrimination, is still a reality in 2022. While that is a sad fact, as a society, we have made strides to fight back against racial insensitivity and discrimination in all forms over the years. Although we still have a long way to go, things are slowly but surely getting better. No place is that more evident than in the workplace.
The employment laws that are in place to tackle racial discrimination issues on the job are helping to curb the problem. However, just as we have a long way to go as a society when it comes to racial discrimination, we also have more work to do when it comes to eliminating racial and other types of discrimination in the workplace. A recent racial discrimination lawsuit involving Tesla is making that crystal clear.
Why Is Tesla Under Fire for Racial Discrimination?
According to Fox KVTU 2, after completing a three-year investigation of how production workers at Tesla’s Freemont factory are treated, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) gathered several complaints and found enough evidence to file a racial discrimination lawsuit against the automaker. The suit alleges that workers at the factory were segregated and that Black employees were discriminated against, including:
- Being harassed and called racial slurs
- Receiving lower pay
- Being denied promotions
- Receiving worse job assignments
- Being subjected to more frequent and harsher discipline
Tesla has denied the allegations, calling them “misguided.”
Is Tesla guilty of racial discrimination or is DFEH’s lawsuit misguided? Only time will tell. What this lawsuit has shown, however, is that employees and employers often struggle to agree upon what is and isn’t workplace racial discrimination.
What Are the Signs of Racial Discrimination at Work?
Racial discrimination in the workplace can happen both out in the open and behind closed doors. While it can be easier to prove public acts of racial discrimination, those that occur away from prying eyes are often more damaging both to victims and the progress that we are attempting to make as a society. A few signs of workplace racial discrimination include:
- Hiring Denial – A person being denied employment during the hiring process because of their race.
- Job Loss – An employee losing their job due to racial discrimination.
- Unfair Company Policies – Employer policies that unfairly target specific races, such as policies regarding certain hair styles.
- Harassment – An employee experiencing harassment at work because of their race.
- Promotion Denial/Demotion/Transfer – An employee being denied a promotion they’ve earned, demoted unjustly, or transferred unnecessarily because of racial discrimination.
- Unfair Compensation – An employee receiving lower wages or being denied benefits because of their race.
Speak with a Workplace Racial Discrimination Attorney with 25 Years of Experience
Attorney Bill Marder and our legal team at Polaris Law Group understand that when people reach out to us, they’re doing so because they’ve been through unimaginable trauma. Therefore, we treat them with the care and compassion that we’d like to be treated with if we were in similar circumstances. However, that care and compassion is reserved for them. When it comes to those who wronged them, we are driven, focused, and aggressive. We understand what is at stake and will call upon every ounce of knowledge, skills, and experience at our disposal to bring their employer and anyone else who wronged them to justice and secure the compensation they deserve.
For more information about how Polaris Law Group can help you, check out our case results and client testimonials.
To discuss your situation with an experienced workplace racial discrimination lawyer, give us a call at (888) 796-4010 or connect with us online to set up a free consultation.