New trial in Tesla harassment case
A federal judge ordered a new trial in a case brought by a Black former Tesla worker who faced workplace discrimination after he rejected a $15 million reward, reduced by the judge from $137 million.
The trial will focus solely on the damages award, wrote Judge William Orrick of the Northern District.
Last year a jury awarded damages to the plaintiff, Owen Diaz, including $6.9 million for emotional distress and $130 million in punitive damages.
Orrick then reduced that amount to $15 million total, calling it excessive but not lowering it to the $300,000 amount requested by Tesla.
Diaz worked as an elevator operator at the company’s Fremont plant for less than a year and said he was called racist names, shown racist cartoons and dealt with other racialized abuse during his time there.
The company denied in court filings that its factory was a racist environment, and pointed to Diaz working for an outside contractor as part of the reason it should not be held liable.
In an email, Diaz’s attorney, Lawrence Organ, stressed the new trial was only to determine damages and not the company’s liability.
“Racial harassment does not cause nominal injuries. The harm caused is deep and long lasting,” he said. Since only $1.5 million would be awarded for emotional distress and the rest would be punitive damages, Organ said the harm his client suffered exceeded that amount and called for a new trial.
Organ added that while corporate requests to re-examine jury verdicts in civil rights trials are routine, “This is part of a systemic bias that under-values the suffering that African Americans endure in the workplace.”
Tesla did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The company is facing another discrimination case in state court brought by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, alleging widespread discrimination after receiving hundreds of complaints from workers, according to the agency.
Tesla denied being a hotbed of discrimination in a blog posted before the lawsuit was filed.