The jury awarded Owen Diaz, an African-American man who worked as an elevator, damages for mental cruelty, Monday’s verdict said. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Diaz would not have received compensation if the judge had admitted new evidence from the company when the case was retried.
“The jury did the best they might with the information they had. I respect the decision.” The company said it would not tolerate discrimination in the workplace and would take employee complaints seriously.
Diaz accused Tesla of inaction in 2017 when he repeatedly complained to managers that employees at the Fremont plant routinely used racist language and daubed swastikas, racist caricatures and comments on walls in his work area. In this case, Diaz had already been awarded $ 137 million by another court in 2021.
A judge in the retrial described the sum as excessive. Diaz then declined the reduced $15 million award.
