Judge affirms jury's verdict in Tesla racism lawsuit but reduces $137 million payout

According to The Wall Street Journal, US District Judge William Orrick rejected the argument that it isn't liable to Owen Diaz. The company turned a blind eye to the racial abuse he suffered while working at the factory from 2015 to 2016 according to the man. Last year, a jury ruled in favor of the man and awarded him over a hundred million dollars in damages. The jury verdict was affirmed by Orrick but the award was reduced.

He slashed the damages to 1.5 million from 6.9 million, which he said was excessive. Punitive damages awarded by courts are meant to punish a defendants actions and deter them from repeating their actions. $13.5 million is a drop in the bucket for a company with a market value of $1 trillion. The lawyer said they would appeal the lower damages award.

Nevertheless, Judge Orrick agreed that the company showed "striking indifference" to the plight of the man. In his original lawsuit, he said he was subjected to racial slurs, fellow workers left drawings of swastika and racist graffiti around the plant, and one supervisor left drawings of swastika and racist graffiti. He said that the management neglected to stop the abuse. Judge Orrick wrote in his ruling.

"Not only does the evidence support a finding of recklessness or indifference to Diaz’s health and safety, it supports a finding that Tesla intentionally built an employment structure that allowed it to take advantage of Diaz’s (and others’) labor for its benefit while attempting to avoid any of the obligations and responsibilities that employers owe employees."

Over the years, there have been several racial discrimination lawsuits against the company, with workers claiming that they were subjected to constant racial abuse in its factories. In February, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against the automaker after finding evidence that it was a racially divided workplace. The accusation was denied by the company, which said itopposes all forms of discrimination and harassment and has a dedicated Employee Relations team that responds to and investigates all complaints.