Tesla settles discrimination lawsuit with former factory worker
The automaker and energy company settled with a black man who had worked at its California factory and won a $3 million judgment against the company.
Tesla and a former employee have agreed to settle a closely watched lawsuit that shines a harsh light on the automaker's treatment of black workers.
Lawyers for Tesla and Owen Diaz, who worked at the company's factory in Fremont, California, did not disclose terms of the settlement in a filing judicial Friday. “The parties have reached an amicable resolution to their differences,” Lawrence A. Organ, Mr. Diaz’s lawyer, said in an email, adding that he could not comment further.
Last year, a San Francisco federal court jury awarded Mr. Diaz $3.2 million after he presented evidence that he had been victim of repeated harassment by Tesla factory supervisors, including racial slurs on more than 30 occasions. A supervisor drew a racist caricature near his workstation, according to testimony in the case.
Tesla did little to discipline supervisors or fight against pervasive racism in the factory, the jury said. found.
Mr. Diaz appealed, saying $3.2 million was not enough compensation for the psychological damages he suffered, including loss of sleep, depression and damaged relationships with his wife and son. Mr. Diaz's lawyers also argued that the sentence was not enough to punish Tesla for failing to stop the harassment.
It was the second trial in this case. In the first case, in 2021, jurors awarded Mr. Diaz $137 million, but a judge ruled the amount was excessive. The second trial last year focused solely on how much Mr. Diaz should receive in damages.
In a ruling last year, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick said, "Tesla's conduct was reprehensible and repeated, and it failed to take responsibility or change its ways during Diaz's tenure at the company." But he ruled that $3.2 million was adequate compensation. Mr. Diaz's appeal of that decision was pending when he and Tesla agreed to settle.
In court filings, Tesla's lawyers denied that the company had failed to respond to the harassment. “Tesla had clear official policies prohibiting racist harassment and did not tolerate, authorize, permit or condone such behavior,” Tesla’s lawyers wrote last year. They did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
The automaker and energy company settled with a black man who had worked at its California factory and won a $3 million judgment against the company.
Tesla and a former employee have agreed to settle a closely watched lawsuit that shines a harsh light on the automaker's treatment of black workers.
Lawyers for Tesla and Owen Diaz, who worked at the company's factory in Fremont, California, did not disclose terms of the settlement in a filing judicial Friday. “The parties have reached an amicable resolution to their differences,” Lawrence A. Organ, Mr. Diaz’s lawyer, said in an email, adding that he could not comment further.
Last year, a San Francisco federal court jury awarded Mr. Diaz $3.2 million after he presented evidence that he had been victim of repeated harassment by Tesla factory supervisors, including racial slurs on more than 30 occasions. A supervisor drew a racist caricature near his workstation, according to testimony in the case.
Tesla did little to discipline supervisors or fight against pervasive racism in the factory, the jury said. found.
Mr. Diaz appealed, saying $3.2 million was not enough compensation for the psychological damages he suffered, including loss of sleep, depression and damaged relationships with his wife and son. Mr. Diaz's lawyers also argued that the sentence was not enough to punish Tesla for failing to stop the harassment.
It was the second trial in this case. In the first case, in 2021, jurors awarded Mr. Diaz $137 million, but a judge ruled the amount was excessive. The second trial last year focused solely on how much Mr. Diaz should receive in damages.
In a ruling last year, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick said, "Tesla's conduct was reprehensible and repeated, and it failed to take responsibility or change its ways during Diaz's tenure at the company." But he ruled that $3.2 million was adequate compensation. Mr. Diaz's appeal of that decision was pending when he and Tesla agreed to settle.
In court filings, Tesla's lawyers denied that the company had failed to respond to the harassment. “Tesla had clear official policies prohibiting racist harassment and did not tolerate, authorize, permit or condone such behavior,” Tesla’s lawyers wrote last year. They did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
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