A black employee is said to have been insulted daily in a Tesla factory. Now a jury has sentenced the company to a high payment – also because Tesla should not have responded to the allegations.
The electric car manufacturer Tesla has to pay 137 million US dollars in damages to an employee – the equivalent of more than 118 million euros. That was decided by a jury in the state of California. The man is said to have been severely racially insulted during his time in the company.
Owen Diaz worked as an elevator operator at the Tesla plant in Fremont from June 2015 to July 2016. There was a “hostile work environment” there, he said, and he and his son and another black colleague were constantly being attacked in a racist manner. Among other things, the other employees used racist terms such as the N word “daily”.
Conditions like at the time of racial segregation?
The conditions were reminiscent of the “Jim Crow era”, it said in the lawsuit. The name originally referred to the figure of the dancing, singing black and is now a collective term for the system of racial segregation. “Tesla’s progressive image is just a facade that covers up the degrading treatment of African American employees,” the prosecution said.
Despite complaints, Tesla did not take action against the racists – which is probably one of the reasons why the verdict was so harsh. The company has to pay 130 million US dollars as punitive damages, seven million dollars are due for the emotional burden on the injured party.
Tesla defends itself against accusations of racism
In a letter to the workforce, Tesla stated that the allegations would not justify such a punishment. At the same time, the company admitted that conditions were “not perfect” when Diaz worked for Tesla. However, great strides have been made in the five years since then. In response to the Diaz case, two employees were fired and another was suspended. It is considered likely that the company will contest the verdict.
Sources: /
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
