Last year, Owen Diaz, a former contract elevator operator at Tesla’s Fremont assembly plant, successfully sued the automaker for creating a hostile, racially abusive work environment. and was awarded $137 million by a jury. That award was confirmed to just $15 million by a judge who gave Diaz two weeks to accept or decline the new amount. Like report via Bloomberg, attorneys for Diaz made the second choice.
“In dismissing the court’s excessive reduction by requesting a new trial, Mr. Diaz again asked the jury of his colleagues to evaluate what Tesla did to him and only provide compensate him for the series of racist slurs directed at him,” Diaz’s attorneys in a statement to NBC News.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2017, describes a work environment where Black workers were routinely subjected to racial slurs and other ill-treatment, with at least one supervisor accused speak Diaz to “go back to Africa” - an issue he also believes the company was negligent in dealing with. Tesla has push back countered some of Diaz’s claims, alleging that prompt action was taken to stop the harassment, and asserting that these racial slurs were “used by African-American colleagues.” “friendly” way and usually is. It also argued that it was not responsible for the way Diaz was treated as a contractor.
Last year a jury Diaz totaled $6.9 million in punitive damages and $130 million in punitive damages, potentially up to one of the in a corporate racism lawsuit. US District Judge William Orrick, in an opinion filed in April, Tesla claims it’s not liable to a contract worker, but also cuts the bonus amount, calling it “excessive.” He punitive damages amounted to $1.5 million and punitive damages $13.5 million. Since Diaz’s attorneys have now denied the award, the case will be moved to a new trial.
The automaker is also facing another lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing representing more than 4,000 former and current black Tesla employees. According to three former Tesla workers plain LA timeBlack workers at the Fremont facility were segregated, given the toughest tasks, and subjected to more discipline than other workers.
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