A federal jury on Monday sharply reduced the amount of damages awarded to a Black former employee who claimed the auto maker failed to prevent racial harassment against him.
In 2021, a San Francisco jury awarded Owen Diaz $137 million, finding Tesla
TSLA,
subjected him to a hostile work environment and did not take reasonable steps to prevent harassment at its Fremont, Calif., factory. Last year, a federal judge reduced that award to $15 million, saying it was the maximum amount allowable. But Diaz rejected that and elected a retrial on the damages part.
On Monday, a jury found Tesla liable for $3.2 million in damages — a roughly 98% reduction from the original amount. Diaz’s attorneys had sought as much as $150 million in punitive damages.
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“I don’t think that the truth drove the decisions here,” said Diaz lawyer Larry Organ, according to the Wall Street Journal, claiming Tesla’s attorneys wrongly attacked his client’s credibility and improperly swayed the jury. Organ said he would seek a mistrial.
Last year, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Tesla over allegations of “systematic racial discrimination and harassment” at its Fremont plant. Tesla counter-sued the state, claiming the agency violated state law by filing the suit without public hearings or comment.
