A female worker at Tesla’s factory, in California, is accusing her co-workers of sexual harassment, describing it as “rampant.”
I asked the HR department, and they did nothing, this is what Jessica Barraza, 38 said to the Washington Post.
How the harassment happened
Jessica Barraza has sued Elon Musk’s Tesla for ‘rampant sexual harassment, claiming co-workers at its California factory. Months after she started her job, as a production associate in 2018 for Tesla Model 3, Barraza started to experience almost everyday harassment.
Related stories
- The Impact of Selling Tesla Shares Is“close to Maximizing Taxes” Musk Said
- Elon Musk Lost $50 Billion in Two Days, but Still the Richest Man
Also, Barraza mentioned in the form she filled that the supervisors and managers at the Fremont plant were aware of the physical and verbal sexual harassment. They did not just ignore her complaints, but they were a part of this daily harassment.
In a statement emailed to The Verge, Jessica Barraza said “nearly every day for three years, my female coworkers and I were objectified, threatened, touched, and propositioned on the factory floor.”
“I wanted to come to work, do my job, and support my family without having to endure constant sexual harassment. I felt degraded, humiliated and traumatized.”
Also, she said Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, “isn’t the great example for the factory”. His sexual tweets, mentioning a recent one in which Elon joked that he was ‘thinking of starting new university’ dubbed the Texas Institute of Technology & Science.
The lawsuit described the harassment at Tesla ‘ claiming the Fremont factory floor ‘more resembles a crude, archaic construction site or frat house than a cutting-edge company in the heart of the progressive San Francisco Bay area.’
Tesla did not respond to inquiries from both The Verge and Daily Mail. The company rarely responds to media inquiries as they closed their public relations department, last year.
What Barraza is expecting from Tesla?
Barraza is asking for compensation, which includes lost back pay and ending harassment at the Fremont plant. Also, she wants the company to conduct training sessions for the employees to prevent any sexual harassment.
This is the second time that an incident of sexual harassment happens in Tesla. Back in 2017, now-former Tesla engineer AJ Vandermeyden sued Tesla for “unwanted and pervasive harassment.
