Tesla has settled a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by Owen Diaz, a former Black elevator operator at its Fremont, California factory.
According to CNBC, a federal jury has already awarded Diaz $3.2 million in damages for the discrimination he faced in 2015.
Tesla vs. Former Black Elevator Operator Owen Diaz
Attorney Lawrence Organ from the California Civil Rights Law Group, who represented Diaz, confirmed that the parties have resolved their disputes amicably. However, the terms of the settlement remain confidential.
"It took immense courage for Owen Diaz to stand up to a company the size of Tesla. Civil rights laws only work if people are willing to take those kinds of risks. Even though the litigation chapter of his life is over, there's still a lot of work to do for Tesla," Organ told CNBC.
A jury awarded Diaz a much larger verdict, including punitive damages, of $137 million in his first trial. Diaz and Tesla sought a retrial to decide damages after a judge reduced the jury's award to $15 million.
Diaz has once again won and secured the $3.2 million verdict, as the company reportedly failed to take reasonable steps to end and prevent race discrimination and further civil rights violations.
Racist Discrimination Allegations Against Tesla
Organ expressed disappointment regarding Elon Musk's role in addressing discrimination, noting that the Tesla CEO has made no public commitment to end such conduct despite years of litigation and substantial verdicts against Tesla.
In addition to Diaz's case, Tesla faces a proposed class action lawsuit, Marcus Vaughn v. Tesla Inc., alleging ongoing racist discrimination and harassment against Black employees. Organ clarified that Diaz is not involved in this litigation.
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