Elon Musk’s firm accused of broad ‘systematic preference’ for foreign workers holding temporary visas
A federal judge in California has allowed a proposed class action accusing Tesla Inc. of favoring foreign workers over U.S. citizens in hiring to move forward.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco declined to throw out claims brought by software engineer Scott Taub, who alleges the electric-vehicle maker systematically prefers foreign nationals on work visas for certain roles and disproportionately targets U.S. citizens in layoffs. At the same time, the judge signaled doubts about whether Taub will ultimately be able to prove his case.
In a short order, Judge Chhabria said Taub, who filed his lawsuit in September on behalf of a proposed class of U.S. workers, had pleaded “just enough facts” about Tesla’s hiring practices to survive Tesla’s motion to dismiss and proceed to discovery.
Taub claims Tesla, led by chief executive Elon Musk, declined to hire him for an engineering position as part of what he describes as a broader “systematic preference” for foreign workers holding temporary visas, in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws. He also alleges recent Tesla layoffs have fallen more heavily on U.S. citizens than on foreign employees.
‘H-1B only’ allegation survives
The lawsuit focuses in part on what Taub says he was told by a recruiter working for a staffing firm handling hiring for Tesla. According to the complaint, the recruiter described the engineering role Taub sought as “H1B only,” referring to H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers commonly used in the technology sector.
Judge Chhabria said that Tesla must answer Taub’s claims tied to that alleged statement by the recruiter, allowing that portion of the case to go forward.
By contrast, the judge dismissed claims brought by a second plaintiff, human-resources specialist Sofia Brander, who asserted that Tesla favors foreign workers for HR roles. Chhabria wrote that it was implausible on the current record that Tesla systematically prefers foreign nationals for human-resources positions. He gave Brander two weeks to revise and expand her allegations if she chooses to continue.
Tesla and attorneys for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In prior court filings, Tesla has denied the allegations and labeled them “preposterous.”
