A U.S. federal agency that enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination can now be added to the list of agencies that is investigating Tesla.
In a court filing on Monday related to a separate case, the automaker revealed that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has an “open investigation” into Tesla, a finding first reported by Bloomberg. The disclosure was tucked inside a filing with the California Superior Court in Alameda County related to a case involving the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Tesla lawyers asked a judge in the document filed April 18 to pause a California lawsuit that alleges racial discrimination and harassment at Tesla’s Fremont manufacturing plant.
Tesla claims the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), which filed the lawsuit against Tesla in February, is exceeding its legal authority and “using litigation as a bullying tactic and to advance its turf war” with EEOC, which had already been investigating the automaker before DFEH filed its suit. (The “turf war” Tesla is referring to involves EEOC’s settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit against video game company Activision Blizzard.)
TechCrunch has reached out to DFEH and EEOC for comment. We will update the article if either agency responds.
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