An employee at a California plant run jointly by General Motors and Toyota is accusing her managers of allowing serious defects to go unchecked, including faulty seat belts and braking, and retaliating when she resisted, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month.
In the case before Alameda County Superior Court in California, Katy Cameron, a certified auditor who has worked for 23 years at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., says management routinely deleted or downgraded defects from her reports on vehicles since 2005.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 6, demands unspecified damages for retaliation against a whistleblower and intentional infliction of emotional distress from NUMMI, Toyota Motor Corp., Toyota in North America and General Motors Corp.
According to legal documents obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, defects that were intentionally passed over included broken seat belts, faulty headlights, inadequate braking, mirrors falling off, engine oil leaks and steering wheel alignment problems—all in an effort to decrease the number of defects. It is not clear whether any defects resulted in accidents.
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