Tesla ordered to pay $3.2M to black ex-worker Owen Diaz, who sought $160M for racial harassment
A federal jury in San Francisco on Monday ordered Tesla to pay about $3.2 million to a black former worker after the electric-vehicle maker was discovered to have failed to forestall extreme racial harassment at its flagship meeting plant in California.
The decision got here after a week-long trial within the 2017 lawsuit by plaintiff Owen Diaz, who in 2021 was awarded $137 million by a different jury.
He opted for a brand new trial on damages after a decide agreed with that jury that Tesla was liable however considerably reduced the award to $15 million.
Diaz accused Tesla of failing to behave when he repeatedly complained to managers that workers on the Fremont, Calif., manufacturing facility continuously used racist slurs and scrawled swastikas, racist caricatures and epithets on partitions and work areas.
The jury on Monday awarded Diaz, who labored as an elevator operator, $175,000 in damages for emotional misery and $3 million in punitive damages designed to punish illegal conduct and deter it sooner or later.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a tweet stated “the decision would’ve been zero” if the decide had allowed the corporate to introduce new proof within the retrial.
Musk added: “Jury did the most effective they may with the knowledge that they had. I respect the choice.”
Bernard Alexander, a lawyer for Diaz, urged jurors throughout closing statements on Friday to award him practically $160 million in damages, and ship a message to Tesla and different giant firms that they are going to be held accountable for failing to handle discrimination.
“Mr. Diaz’s outlook on the world has been completely modified,” Alexander stated. “That’s what occurs while you take away an individual’s security.”
Tesla’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, countered that Diaz was a confrontational employee who had exaggerated his claims of emotional misery, and stated his legal professionals failed to point out any severe, long-lasting injury attributable to Tesla.
“They’re simply throwing numbers up on the display screen like that is some sort of sport present,” Spiro stated.
Tesla and legal professionals for Diaz didn’t instantly reply to requests for touch upon the decision. The corporate has stated it doesn’t tolerate office discrimination and takes employee complaints significantly.
Diaz testified final week, tearfully recounting numerous incidents throughout the 9 months that he labored on the Fremont manufacturing facility. Diaz stated the job made him anxious and strained his relationship along with his son, who additionally labored on the plant.
Attorneys for Tesla highlighted what they stated have been inconsistencies in Diaz’s testimony and repeatedly raised the truth that he didn’t lodge written complaints to supervisors. Diaz testified that he verbally complained to managers quite a few occasions and mentioned his complaints with Tesla human sources officers.
The EV maker is dealing with similar claims of tolerating race discrimination on the Fremont plant and different workplaces in a pending class motion by black staff, a separate case from a California civil rights company, and a number of instances involving particular person staff. The corporate has denied wrongdoing in these instances.
Diaz had sued Tesla for violating a California legislation that prohibits employers from failing to handle hostile work environments based mostly on race or different protected traits.
The primary jury in 2021 awarded Diaz $7 million in damages for emotional misery and a staggering $130 million in punitive damages. The award was one of many largest in an employment discrimination case in US historical past.
US District Decide William Orrick final 12 months agreed with the jury that Tesla had damaged the legislation, however stated the award was extreme and lower it to $15 million. The US Supreme Court docket has stated punitive damages usually ought to be not more than 10 occasions compensatory damages.
Orrick stated Diaz had labored on the manufacturing facility for under 9 months and had not alleged any bodily damage or sickness warranting a better award.
On Friday, Orrick denied a movement by Diaz’s legal professionals for a mistrial. They claimed Tesla’s authorized group violated Orrick’s bar on introducing new proof within the retrial by questioning Diaz and different witnesses about incidents the place he allegedly made racist or sexual feedback.
Orrick stated these questions have been associated to different incidents mentioned within the first trial, and that Diaz’s legal professionals had not proven that the questioning prejudiced the jury.