Six different women sued Tesla, alleging the company encouraged sexual harassment and that it was a frat house.
The lawsuits were filed Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court. They allege rampant sexual harassment in its facilities, especially Fremont’s 53 million-square foot factory.
The women claim that their male colleagues made lewd remarks about their bodies and clothing, touched their intimate parts and discriminated against their gender.
Many women also claimed that their supervisors ignored or failed to take action when they reported the harassment to them.
Some others claimed they were afraid to report harassment to Human Resources, as their supervisors could be blamed.
Bloomberg reports that Tesla claims it creates an environment that is safe for employees. However, Tesla actually has for years subjected female workers in Fremont to sexual harassment and nightmarish conditions for decades.
Tesla’s facilities are more like a primitive, archaic building site or frathouse than a modern company located in the center of San Francisco Bay Area.
Most of the complaints about sexual harassment come from Tesla’s Fremont California plant (pictured).
In her lawsuit, the Washington Post reports, Jessica Brooks, who also works at the Fremont factory, claimed the harassment was so extreme that she stacked boxes around her work station to deter men from ogling and whistling at her.
In an attempt to conceal her rear, she said that she bought some flannel shirt from a thrift shop to wear around her waist.
She told The Post that she was tired of unwanted attention from men and their constant stares. So, she created barriers to protect herself.
“That is what I needed to do my job.”
Michelle Curran, another female employee at Tesla, claimed her Tesla supervisor told her that she had just started working there when she was 18 and her boss said to her, “That with his big butt, he should be an exotic dancing artist.”
According to her, the supervisor also attempted to put her under a bust when she changed into the jumpsuit that she had worn to paint the cars.
Curran resigned after only two months.
She told the Post that she felt afraid and didn’t know where to go. “Knowing that there are only males around me, not knowing if their mindset might be the same as mine.
Alisa Blickman (33), said that her supervisor noticed her stretching out one morning, and she said, “I hear your don’t like screaming loud enough.”
According to her, the same supervisor touched and rubbed her back. She said it was common in Fremont, where women were identified using a number system.
Blickman stated to the Post that she was afraid of going to Human Resources and was informed she would be moved to an outside area.
Samira Shapard, however, claimed that the Fremont job, which she started at 19 years old, left her with anxiety, shame and distress. She said her supervisor told her male colleagues once her nipples were visible in her shirt.
Alize Brown, who described the experience as a ‘living horror’ told The Post that her first job at Tesla was shortly after having children when she turned 21.
According to her, a male colleague would comment often on breastmilk-stained shirts and call her a cow or say: “Oh, I see that you’re milking today.”
Brown claimed she complained to her supervisor. He treated it like a joke and ordered Brown to buy a baggy jumpsuit in order to get around his remarks.
She later claimed that the supervisor had told her her contract was not up for renewal.
She told The Post that it was horrible. “I could actually cry, because I had just had a baby and then have to tortured for twelve hours.
She continued, “It was really difficult for me.” “It is still very difficult for me even though I was let go by Tesla.
Eden Mederos is one of several women who are suing Elon Musk for sexual harassment. She claims his tweets would make the situation worse.
Eden Mederos, another female worker who began working in the Tesla Los Angeles service center in 2016, claimed simple acts such as eating a banana and using a spoon lead to men making lewd comparisons.
She claimed that men would whistle at and encourage her to reveal her skin.
This problem only got worse as she claimed that CEO Elon Musk would tweet derogatory remarks – an attribute the billionaire is famous for.
She complained that everyone would see the tweets of Musk when he did it. Managers and technicians were quick to bring up tweets, make jokes about them and riff on sexual themes.
Another time she claimed that her manager had flirted and reached out to her, while they were driving the car. She stated that she complained to Human Resources and faced retaliation.
Mederos, 31 years old, stated that Tesla had been my dream job when I joined it. “I wanted to climb up the ranks in the company. I felt proud that I had the opportunity to do so when I took the job.
“When I quit, I was only devastated.”
David Lowe, a San Francisco partner of Rudy, Exelrod and Lowe, is representing six of the women in the lawsuits. He said that he’s trying to end the’shocking pattern and harassment at Tesla.
“It is pervasive within the workplace. We now know it’s more than just Fremont’s factory floor. It’s also at other locations such as sales centers.
Company officials stated that they take allegations of sexual harassment very seriously and will not tolerate retaliation.
Mederos claimed that problems extended far beyond the Fremont Factory, and also included its service centers, such as the one in Los Angeles.
The company faces a seventh lawsuit for sexual harassment. Jessica Barraza (38), filed her complaint last month in California Superior Court. She described ‘nightmarish’ conditions at Fremont’s factory.
In an interview with The Washington Post, she stated that it was only months into her role as production associate for the Tesla Model 3 that she experienced near-constant harassment from colleagues who made crude comments about her body.
Barraza told the Post that co-workers would regularly remark on her ‘coke bottle figure’ and ‘onion booty,’ as well a make references to her having a ‘fat a**’ and ‘fat a** t***ies.’
The suit alleges that a male co-worker once picked her up by her waist, ‘pressing against her torso under her breasts.’
According to her, the straw came when, on September 28, a man ran behind her and put his arm between her thighs while she was taking her lunch break.
He said, “Oh my poor,” after she ran away. According to the suit.
Barraza claims that she made complaints to Tesla Human Resources in September and October but was not addressed by the company.
Barraza stated that Tesla’s human resource department blocked her email address hr@tesla.com for complaints when she attempted to raise her concerns.
Tesla has not publicly commented yet on any lawsuits.
Last year, the company eliminated its public relations division and does not usually respond to media inquiries.