In a shocking yet predictable escalation in the national debate over foreign labor and American jobs, a federal judge has ruled that Tesla must face a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging it replaced laid-off U.S. workers with H-1B visa holders, reinforcing a disturbing trend in corporate America where skilled Americans are discarded while foreign labor is brought in.
The lawsuit, filed in September 2025 by software engineer Scott Taub, claims Tesla engaged in a “systematic preference” for hiring foreign workers under the H-1B visa program, even when it was cutting personnel on U.S. soil in massive numbers. Taub alleges that a recruiter told him a sought-after engineering position was strictly “H-1B only,” an assertion that kept his discrimination claims alive after the judge declined to dismiss the case.
According to the complaint, Tesla laid off more than 6,000 American workers in 2024 and hired at least 1,355 H-1B visa holders during the same period, a staggering ratio that stretches credibility if the issue was truly “labor shortages” rather than cost-saving replacements.
Tesla has denied the claims, calling them “preposterous.” But it is precisely this kind of corporate posture that has left America’s workforce vulnerable while executives demand more open access to foreign labor.
A broader pattern, not isolated to one automaker
While Tesla’s lawsuit grabbed headline attention, it is hardly an isolated incident. Government sources and studies reveal a pattern:
U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security data confirm that American companies approved tens of thousands of H-1B visas even as they slashed U.S. jobs, with reports of one firm obtaining over 5,000 H-1B approvals while laying off roughly 15,000 U.S. workers, another approved for nearly 1,700 visas while cutting 2,400 jobs and a third reducing its U.S. workforce by 27,000 while securing over 25,000 H-1B approvals since 2022.
A major review of the top 30 employers of H-1B workers showed that in 2022 alone, they hired more than 34,000 H-1B visa holders while those same employers grounded out at least 85,000 U.S. jobs through layoffs – nearly one H-1B hire for every 2.5 layoffs.
These figures come directly from publicly available government filings and watchdog analyses, not fringe speculation.
The supposed purpose of the H-1B program has been hollowed out
Congress intended the H-1B visa to help employers fill true labor shortages in specialized professions where qualified Americans are unavailable. But despite the program’s intentions, employers are not required to advertise openings to U.S. workers before hiring H-1B labor, meaning there is no real “test of the U.S. labor market.” This regulatory gap aligns with annual H-1B approval data that shows companies are willing to maximize foreign hiring even while U.S. job openings remain or are declining due to layoffs.
Former Labor Department officials and congressional auditors have repeatedly noted that the program’s intention has been grossly subverted, with no effective enforcement to ensure U.S. workers get first consideration.
Will this be the start of a legal trend?
The Tesla lawsuit could be the first of many legal challenges if citizens and displaced U.S. workers pursue justice where regulators have failed. The judge in the Tesla case already expressed skepticism of the strength of the evidence, not because the pattern isn’t real, but because the law currently allows these practices unless plaintiffs can prove intent, discrimination or policy violations.
Previously, lawsuits alleging companies replaced Americans with foreign H-1B workers have failed largely on technical grounds, even when dozens of Americans were affected. That is changing, only because rank-and-file workers are filing the suits themselves, and not because agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the U.S. Department of Justice have taken up the cause.
This raises a stark question: Where are the regulators?
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has the authority to pursue patterns of discriminatory hiring, yet it remains to be seen where it has taken any major actions, leaving private citizens to shoulder the burden. For its part, the EEOC is empowered to investigate systemic discrimination, yet has not made high-profile moves against companies replacing U.S. citizens with H-1B workers en masse.
The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division should be scrutinizing labor condition applications that undercut American wages, but enforcement remains spotty.
Americans are left to pick up the slack
At a time when millions of U.S. workers, especially in STEM fields, are struggling to find meaningful employment or recover from layoffs, American citizens are increasingly forced into self-help through lawsuits while bureaucrats dither.
This is no small matter: The H-1B program currently supports hundreds of thousands of foreign workers nationwide, embedded in tech companies, manufacturing firms and engineering teams across America. Wholesale replacement of U.S. workers with visa holders, even if legal, undermines the spirit of American labor law and disincentivizes companies from hiring homegrown talent.
The Tesla lawsuit is a catalyst, but unless Congress, the DOJ, EEOC and Department of Labor step up enforcement, such private lawsuits could become the norm rather than the exception. Tesla’s day in court may just be the beginning, but individual Americans are the ones paying the legal costs of asking for basic fairness.