Tesla must face lawsuit alleging anti-American bias in hiring, US judge rules

By Daniel Wiessner

Feb 24 (Reuters) - A U.S. justice has refused to disregard a suit accusing Tesla of discriminating against American citizens successful hiring truthful it tin wage little ‌to overseas workers, but said helium was skeptical that the bundle technologist who sued ‌would prevail.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria successful San Francisco said successful a little bid precocious Monday that Scott Taub, who filed ​the projected people enactment successful September, had offered up "just capable facts" astir Tesla's hiring practices for the lawsuit to determination forward.

Taub says the electrical carmaker led by billionaire Elon Musk passed him implicit for an engineering job, portion of its "systematic preference" to prosecute overseas visa holders successful usurpation of national civilian ‌rights law. He besides says layoffs ⁠at Tesla person disproportionately targeted U.S. citizens.

Chhabria connected Monday said Tesla indispensable look Taub's claims that a recruiter for a staffing institution told him that the ⁠engineering occupation helium sought was "H1B only," referring to H-1B visas granted to highly educated overseas workers and heavy relied upon by the tech industry.

The justice dismissed claims by a 2nd plaintiff, quality resources specializer Sofia ​Brander, saying ​it was implausible that Tesla prefers to prosecute overseas ​workers for HR positions. He gave ‌Brander 2 weeks to record an amended ailment fleshing retired her claims.

Tesla and lawyers for the plaintiffs did not instantly respond to requests for comment. Tesla has denied the claims successful the suit and called them "preposterous" successful tribunal filings.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, has imposed a $100,000 interest connected caller H-1B visas, an unprecedented determination that helium says volition deter businesses from abusing the programme and displacing ‌American workers. The interest is being challenged successful astatine slightest ​three lawsuits.

The suit says Tesla is babelike connected holders of ​H-1B visas, including successful 2024 erstwhile it ​hired an estimated 1,355 visa holders portion laying disconnected much than 6,000 ‌workers domestically, the immense bulk believed to beryllium ​U.S. citizens.

Chhabria connected Monday ​said that beyond the recruiter's comments, Taub has presented scant grounds of discrimination. The statistic from 2024, for instance, simply amusement that Tesla hired a important fig of H-1B holders ​that year, but not that it ‌preferred them implicit U.S. citizens, the justice said.

"All of this causes the Court to ​be somewhat skeptical of Taub’s allegations," Chhabria wrote.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner successful Albany, New ​York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Aurora Ellis)