The Wall Street Journal has reported that a federal jury ordered electric vehicle giant Tesla to pay $137 million in damages to a Black former employee after determining he was subjected to a racially hostile work environment.
A federal jury in San Francisco concluded Monday that Owen Diaz, a former contract worker recruited through a staffing agency in 2015, was subjected to a racially toxic work environment, Lawrence Organ, Diaz's legal counsel, said.
The verdict could not be confirmed immediately in electronic court documents.
In an interview, Organ, of the California Civil Rights Law Group, stated, "It's a fantastic thing when one of America's wealthiest businesses has to face up to the awful conditions at its factory for Black people."
Tesla and its lawyers did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Reuters. Diaz's attorneys did not reply to a request for comment as well.
Prior to the start of the trial, presiding judge William Orrick rejected Tesla's request to remove one juror on the basis of race, calling it "purposefully discriminatory."
Tesla, which normally utilizes forced arbitration to handle employee issues, had to defend itself in a court proceeding in Diaz's case, which was an unusual occurrence.
Although it was slapped with a $1 million award in May in a case brought by another former employee that was similar to Diaz's, Tesla nearly never loses workplace arbitrations.
Diaz expressed his relief at the jury's ruling, stating in an interview Monday evening that "It took four difficult years to get to this point." According to The New York Times, Diaz said it was like "a tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders."
Tesla revealed in its first U.S. diversity report last year that Black employees made up just 4% of the car maker's American leadership roles and 10% of the company's overall workforce in the nation.
The conclusion of the trial might encourage shareholder activists who have pressed Tesla's board to be more transparent about its use of arbitration to handle sexual harassment and racial discrimination allegations, but have so far been unsuccessful.
