Black Tesla Worker Who Faced Daily Racism Awarded Nearly $137 Million In Lawsuit
Tesla Inc. got to pay up! Nearly $137 million has been awarded to a Black former worker who said he suffered years of racial abuse at the electric carmaker’s San Francisco Bay Area factory.
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Owen Diaz, who was a contracted elevator operator, alleged in his lawsuit that he was harassed and faced “daily racist epithets,” including the “N-word,” while working at Tesla’s Fremont plant between 2015 and 2016 before quitting. He explained that that employees drew swastikas and left racist graffiti and drawings around the plant. He said the supervisors did absolutely nothing to stop the abuse.
As a result of the traumatizing experience, Diaz was awarded $6.9M in damages for emotional distress and $130 million in punitive damages, his attorney, Lawrence A. Organ, told the Washington Post. “It took four long years to get to this point. It’s like a big weight has been pulled off my shoulders,” Diaz told the New York Times.
Tesla previously denied any knowledge of the alleged racist conduct at the plant, which has about 10,000 workers.
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