New York residents may have heard about a charge of pervasive harassment levied against Tesla. The employee who filed the charge now works in the company’s purchasing department after spending time as a manufacturing engineer in the general assembly department. She claims that she was told that to advance in the company, she would have to meet standards that male employees were not held to.
This statement was allegedly made after she complained about sexual harassment and unequal pay. Specifically, she claimed that she made less money than male employees who did the same job and that men who were less qualified than her were promoted. The lawsuit also alleges that the employee was denied overtime pay, rest breaks and meal periods when she worked in the sales department. Those complaints echoed similar concerns about worker safety and overtime pay made by another employee.
In a statement, Tesla founder Elon Musk claimed that the person who wrote the blog post was not an employee of the company. He also mentioned that employees are paid above union rates when factoring in company stock options. As to the sexual harassment charge, Tesla said in an email that with 30,000 employees, it is inevitable that small numbers of people would make such charges.
Employees who feel as if they have received differing treatment due to gender may have grounds for a lawsuit against their employer. An attorney may help gather evidence and may review a case to determine how to proceed with a claim. If successful, an employee may be entitled to compensation for back pay with interest. It may also be possible for a worker to regain his or her former position if he or she was terminated or reassigned after speaking out.
