Tesla must face lawsuit alleging it replaced laid-off US workers with H-1B visa holders

A federal judge has allowed a class-action lawsuit against Tesla to proceed, alleging the company discriminated against American workers by prioritizing H-1B visa holders for engineering positions while laying off over 6,000 US employees in 2024. Software engineer Scott Taub alleges he was passed over for a job due to a “systematic preference” for foreign visa holders, with a recruiter reportedly stating the position was “H-1B only.” While Judge Chhabria expressed skepticism about the claims, the alleged recruiter comment was deemed sufficient to move the case forward.

The lawsuit comes after reports in late 2024 that Tesla requested over 2,000 H-1B visas during the same period as the mass layoffs, representing over 3% of the national annual cap. This has sparked controversy given Elon Musk’s shifting public stance on the H-1B program, initially defending it and later acknowledging it was “broken” after a $100,000 fee was imposed on new applications.

The core of the case revolves around whether Tesla deliberately replaced American workers with H-1B visa holders who have less leverage to negotiate pay or working conditions. The judge acknowledged that statistics alone don’t prove discrimination, but the alleged “H-1B only” comment provides direct evidence supporting the plaintiff’s claims, suggesting a discriminatory hiring policy.

(Source：Electrek)