A former Black elevator operator rejected a $15 million award in his racial bias lawsuit on Tuesday against Tesla after a judge reduced the $137 million jury verdict.
According to NBC News, Owen Diaz and his lawyers turned down the award, stating that the payout would not deter the company from committing future misconduct.
“In rejecting the court’s excessive reduction by asking for a new trial, Mr. Diaz is again asking a jury of his peers to evaluate what Tesla did to him and to provide just compensation for the torrent of racist slurs that was directed at him,” his lawyers said.
Diaz’s lawyers said U.S. District Judge William Orrick’s decision to lower the initial amount to $15 million highlighted systemic bias that federal judges have against juries, violating the constitutional rights plaintiffs have to a trial by jury.
The former employee worked at the Freemont plant for nine months in 2015-2016 before facing “daily racist epithets” from former employees, prompting him to file the lawsuit in 2017, News Onyx reported.
In the complaint, Diaz’s lawyers cited “Tesla’s progressive image was a facade papering over its regressive, demeaning treatment of African-American employees.”
He alleged that his former employees left graffiti riddled with racist slurs, caricatures and swastikas, subjecting him to a hostile work environment. He claimed his supervisor was aware of the intolerant treatment and did nothing.
Tesla, founded by Elon Musk, denied wrongdoing and claimed that the company had laws to prevent workplace misconduct.
A jury had awarded Diaz $6.9 million in compensatory damages in October and $130 million in punitive damages. However, in April, Orrick ruled that the numbers were too excessive.
The company faces several lawsuits involving race and sexual harassment at the Freemont factory, including one filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
Diaz has two weeks to accept the $15 million award or agree to a new trial.
