Let’s Unpack The Racial Discrimination Case Against Tesla: Q&A With Attorney Kimberly Fayette
Arbitration clauses—‘private dispute resolutions’—have a chilling effect on people coming forward with their claims and pursuing justice.
Editor’s Note: This Q&A with Kimberly Fayette is a companion piece to Madison Jacobs’ personal essay on being a technologist, an activist, and a Black woman bearing witness to the roiling, racist allegations brought against Tesla.
I got the chance to speak with Kimberly Fayette—an attorney and fellow at the New York City Commission on Human Rights—to get her legal insight, wisdom, and advice on what this racial discrimination case against Tesla means, and if it will alter our collective conversations around workers’ rights, America’s long history of bigotry, and our justice system.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE NATURE OF ARBITRATION + THE DIFFICULTY OF NAVIGATING THE JUSTICE SYSTEM AS A PLAINTIFF?
KIMBERLY: Arbitration clauses prevent people from presenting their claims in court. In arbitration many of the rules and procedures that exist in court are non-existent or relaxed — procedures that are…
