Judge affirms jury's verdict in Tesla racism lawsuit but reduces $137 million payout
of Diaz and awarded him $6.9 million in compensatory damages, as well as $130 million in punitive damages. Orrick has affirmed the jury's verdict but reduced the award to $15 million.
To be exact, he reduced the compensatory damages awarded to Diaz to $1.5 million from $6.9 million, which he called"excessive." He also slashed the"unconstitutionally large" punitive damages award from $130 million to $13.5 million. Punitive damages awarded by courts are meant to punish a defendant and deter them from repeating their actions — or, in Tesla's case, from allegedly ignoring the racial abuse of a Black worker. Tesla has a market value, however, and $13.
Nevertheless, Judge Orrick agreed that Tesla showed a"striking" indifference to Diaz's plight. In his original lawsuit, Diaz said he wasn't just subjected to racial slurs, fellow workers also left drawings of swastika and racist graffiti around the plant. He said Tesla's management neglected to halt 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 labor for its benefit while attempting to avoid any of the obligations and responsibilities that employers owe employees."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Judge Slashes Black Worker’s $137 Million Tesla PayoutBut Tesla was still ordered to pay Owen Diaz $15 million over his claims that he was subjected to racist treatment while on the job.
Read more »
Judge finds Tesla liable to Black former worker who alleged bias, but slashes payout(Reuters) -A federal judge said on Wednesday Tesla Inc was liable to a Black elevator operator who said the electric car company ignored racial abuse at the factory where he worked, but reduced a nearly $137 million jury award to $15 million. U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco ruled after jurors last October found that Tesla subjected Owen Diaz to a hostile environment at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California by allowing and failing to stop the racism he faced. Diaz, who worked at the plant for nine months in 2015 and 2016, said other employees used racist slurs when speaking to him, and scrawled swastikas and slurs including the 'N-word' on bathroom walls.
Read more »
Dallas judge under scrutiny for bail rulings recuses herself from casesA Dallas County judge who faced public scrutiny for lowering a murder suspect’s bail — and later raised the man’s bail amounts — has recused herself from the...
Read more »
Ted Cruz says Republicans didn’t criticize Judge Jackson for fear of being called 'modern day Klansmen'Sen. Ted Cruz has put a postscript on all the drama from the recent confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Read more »
Renault is awkward guinea pig for Tesla-like trickThe group may list its electric-vehicle business. Automaker CEOs look enviously at the rich valuation of Elon Musk’s group. Yet Renault’s battery unit is modest, and poor profitability and messy governance would mean its rump combustion operation would look even less desirable.
Read more »