Tesla has been ordered to pay about $US3.2 million ($4.7 million) to a Black former employee after a jury in San Francisco found the electric-vehicle maker failed to prevent severe racial harassment.
Key points:
- Owen Diaz accused Tesla of failing to act when he repeatedly complained to managers about employees frequently using racist slurs
- The jury awarded Mr Diaz $US175,000 in damages for emotional distress and $US3 million in punitive damages
- Tesla says it does not tolerate workplace discrimination and takes worker complaints seriously
The verdict came after a week-long trial in the 2017 lawsuit by plaintiff Owen Diaz, who in 2021 was awarded $US137 million by a different jury.
He opted for a new trial on damages after a judge significantly reduced the award to $US15 million.
Mr Diaz accused Tesla of failing to act when he repeatedly complained to managers that employees at the factory in California frequently used racist slurs and scrawled swastikas, racist caricatures and epithets on walls and work areas.
The jury on Monday awarded Mr Diaz, who worked as an elevator operator, $US175,000 in damages for emotional distress and $US3 million in punitive damages designed to punish unlawful conduct and deter it in the future.
Mr Diaz's lawyer Bernard Alexander urged jurors during closing statements on Friday to award him nearly $US160 million in damages, and send a message to Tesla and other large companies that they will be held accountable for failing to address discrimination.
"Mr Diaz's outlook on the world has been permanently changed," Mr Alexander said.
"That is what happens when you take away a person's safety."
Tesla's lawyer Alex Spiro countered that Mr Diaz was a confrontational worker who had exaggerated his claims of emotional distress, and said his lawyers failed to show any serious, long-lasting damage caused by Tesla.
"They're just throwing numbers up on the screen like this is some kind of game show," Mr Spiro said.
Tesla and lawyers for Mr Diaz did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the verdict.
The company has said it does not tolerate workplace discrimination and takes worker complaints seriously.
Mr Diaz testified last week, tearfully recounting various incidents during the nine months that he worked at the factory.
Mr Diaz said the job made him anxious and strained his relationship with his son, who also worked at the plant.
Lawyers for Tesla highlighted what they said were inconsistencies in Mr Diaz's testimony and repeatedly raised the fact that he did not lodge written complaints to supervisors.
Mr Diaz testified that he verbally complained to managers numerous times and discussed his complaints with Tesla human resources officials.
The EV maker is facing similar claims of tolerating race discrimination at the plant and other workplaces in a pending class action by Black workers, a separate case from a California civil rights agency, and multiple cases involving individual workers.
The company has denied wrongdoing in those cases.
Mistrial motion denied by Tesla
Mr Diaz had sued Tesla for violating a California law that prohibits employers from failing to address hostile work environments based on race or other protected traits.
The first jury in 2021 awarded Mr Diaz $US7 million in damages for emotional distress and a staggering $US130 million in punitive damages.
The award was one of the largest in an employment discrimination case in US history.
US District Judge William Orrick last year agreed with the jury that Tesla had broken the law, but said the award was excessive and cut it to $US15 million.
The US Supreme Court has said punitive damages typically should be no more than 10 times compensatory damages.
Judge Orrick said Mr Diaz had worked at the factory for only nine months and had not alleged any physical injury or illness warranting a higher award.
On Friday, the judge denied a motion by Diaz's lawyers for a mistrial.
They claimed Tesla's legal team violated Judge Orrick's bar on introducing new evidence in the retrial by questioning Mr Diaz and other witnesses about incidents where he allegedly made racist or sexual comments.
The judge said those questions were related to other incidents discussed in the first trial, and that Mr Diaz's lawyers had not shown that the questioning prejudiced the jury.
Reuters
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April 04, 2023 at 07:17AM
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US jury orders Tesla to pay former employee $4.7 million after finding it failed to prevent racial harrassment - ABC News
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