A deaf worker at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Texas has sued the company, saying
he was unfairly fired after complaining that the high heat at the plant
damaged his hearing aids.
The employee, Hans Kohls, said in his lawsuit that he was assigned to
the casting department, where molten aluminum reached over 660°C (1,220°F).
Because of the heat, his hearing aids stopped working properly, and he couldn’t hear important safety alarms or alerts.
Kohls said that instead of helping him under the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA), Tesla fired him. His lawyer, Andrew Rozynski, said Kohls
had asked for a simple accommodation — to move to another department
where he had already worked successfully.
“Tesla had a skilled worker who only asked for a basic adjustment.
Kohls had joined Tesla through the Tesla START programme in early
2024 — a 10-week training course to prepare workers for technical
jobs at the company. He performed very well, finishing with a score
of 95.7%, placing among the top trainees.
After training, he worked in several departments like vehicle validation
and drive unit, where the temperature was much cooler. Later, he was
moved to the casting department, but he said he was never warned that
the extreme heat there was much higher than normal factory conditions.
Kohls is now seeking justice, claiming that Tesla violated his rights by
failing to accommodate his disability and then firing him unfairly.