Motion to add plaintiffs heard in discrimination lawsuit against TSMC

San Jose, California, April 8 (CNA) An employment discrimination lawsuit against contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) may soon be expanded after a hearing was held in a federal court in San Jose on adding 15 plaintiffs to the case.

According to a court document, the lawsuit, which was refiled in November 2024 as a form of a class action with 13 plaintiffs in California, wants to add 15 plaintiffs from Arizona, where TSMC is investing in wafer fab capacity.

TSMC first committed between 2020 and 2024 to invest US$65 billion in three advanced wafer fabs in Arizona, the first of which began mass production in 2024.

It then pledged an additional US$100 billion in March 2025 to build three more fabs, two IC assembly plants and one research and development center in Arizona.

The employment discrimination lawsuit was first submitted in August 2024 on behalf of Deborah Howington, who reportedly began working for TSMC in February 2023 as a deputy director for talent acquisition at a company office in San Jose.

The refiled complaint in November 2024 alleged that as of Dec. 31, 2023, the vast majority of TSMC's 2,668 workers in North America were from Taiwan and China.

This shows an "intentional pattern and practice of employment discrimination against individuals who are not of East Asian race, not of Taiwanese or Chinese national origin, and who are not citizens of Taiwan or China."

These include "discrimination in hiring, staffing, promotion, and retention/termination decisions."

"TSMC routinely subjects non-East Asians (including those who are not of Taiwanese or Chinese descent) to a hostile work environment where verbal abuse, gaslighting, isolation, and humiliation is common, and oftentimes leads to the constructive discharge of these employees," the complaint said.

The plaintiffs claimed executives in TSMC's U.S. facilities often lashed out and shouted at them in public just because they were Americans, saying they were described as "lazy" and "stupid."

TSMC has denied the accusations.

Accompanied by her lawyer Daniel Kotchen, Howington appeared at Tuesday's hearing and told reporters outside the hearing that any multinational enterprise should abide by U.S. laws.

Howington said TSMC is a "widely respected and successful" company and many Americans are grateful to the company's commitment to the U.S., and she hoped TSMC's efforts in the U.S. will succeed.

But the company should achieve success by observing American laws.

"We've all experienced significant challenges related to discrimination, and we sincerely hope that they'll be addressed in an appropriate manner," Howington said.

During the hearing, Kotchen said the additional 15 plaintiffs would provide extra critical evidence to prove TSMC's systematic discriminatory practices in the case, and their participation would help the case proceed in favor of the plaintiffs.

The lawyer said that at a time when TSMC has announced an additional US$100 billion in investments in Arizona, the company needed to improve its hostile working environment.

In response, TSMC lawyer Fletcher Alford said at the hearing that it was inappropriate for 15 plaintiffs from Arizona to file suit against an Arizona employer in California.

At the same time, the case has proceeded for over seven months and that both sides wanted to expedite the trial, especially with TSMC set to expand its investment in North America.

Given that, Alford said it was hard to see how increasing the class action suit would accelerate the case, and he urged the court not to grant the motion to add plaintiffs.

Judge Virginia DeMarchi said the case was challenging because new plaintiffs wanted to join the class action but were also filing individual claims.

Though TSMC was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday's hearing, the company defended its employment practices in a statement in November 2024 after the refiling of the complaint.

"TSMC believes strongly in the value of a diverse workforce and we hire and promote without regard to gender, religion, race, nationality, or political affiliation because we respect differences, and believe that equal employment opportunities strengthen our competitiveness," it said.