{"id":348720,"date":"2021-10-05T19:52:04","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T16:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/tesla-ordered-to-pay-137m-to-ex-worker-over-racist-work-culture\/"},"modified":"2021-10-05T19:52:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T16:52:04","slug":"tesla-ordered-to-pay-137m-to-ex-worker-over-racist-work-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/tesla-ordered-to-pay-137m-to-ex-worker-over-racist-work-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"#Tesla ordered to pay $137M to ex-worker over racist work culture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Tesla ordered to pay $137M to ex-worker over racist work culture<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>A San Francisco federal court ordered Tesla to pay a whopping $137 million to a former contractor who\u2019s black after the Elon Musk-helmed carmaker allowed a racist workplace culture to fester. <\/p>\n<p>The ex-employee, Owen Diaz, a former contractor who was hired through a staffing agency and worked at Tesla\u2019s Fremont plant in 2015 and 2016, faced a racist and hostile work environment, a jury ruled late Monday. <\/p>\n<p>Diaz\u2019s lawsuit alleged that employees drew swastikas and left racist graffiti and drawings around the Tesla plant. He also alleged that employees often used the \u201cN-word\u201d and other racist epithets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTesla\u2019s progressive image was a fa\u00e7ade papering over its regressive, demeaning treatment of African-American employees,\u201d the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n<p>In court, Diaz testified that he suffered \u201csleepless nights\u201d and weight loss as he lost his <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>etite.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/racism-at-telsa-05.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768\" alt=\"Owen Diaz, a former Tesla contractor\" class=\"wp-image-19701972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/racism-at-telsa-05.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/racism-at-telsa-05.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1152 1152w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/racism-at-telsa-05.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768 768w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/racism-at-telsa-05.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=384 384w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/racism-at-telsa-05.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption>Owen Diaz worked at Tesla\u2019s Fremont plant in 2015 and 2016.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Handout<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSome days I would just sit on my stairs and cry,\u201d he told the jury, according to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-10-04\/tesla-ordered-to-pay-137-million-for-harboring-workplace-racism\">Bloomberg<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The jury awarded Diaz $6.9 million in damages for emotional distress and $130 million in punitive damages, according to his attorney, Lawrence Organ of the California Civil Rights Law Group.<\/p>\n<p>In court, Tesla\u2019s attorneys argued that it investigated and resolved all incidents reported by Diaz and that it did not intend to disregard the rights and concerns of black workers at the plant. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a rare instance in which Tesla \u2014 the world\u2019s most valuable carmaker \u2014 has had to publicly defend itself in court against a former worker. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1224668395.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"An aerial view of the Tesla Fremont Factory\" class=\"wp-image-19702097\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1224668395.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1224668395.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1224668395.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>A jury ruled that Diaz faced a racist and hostile work environment at the Tesla Fremont factory.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The company has a reputation for using mandatory arbitration to resolve employee disputes behind closed doors.<\/p>\n<p>Private arbitration often lets companies avoid costly damages or commit to major corrective action. Tesla rarely takes a big hit in arbitration, though it did pay a\u00a0$1 million award\u00a0in May in a case brought by another ex-contractor that was similar to Diaz\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>The company has faced pressure from shareholder activists to limit its use of arbitration and be more transparent about diversity and other matters. <\/p>\n<p>One shareholder activist fund, Nia\u00a0Impact\u00a0Capital, has voiced concern that the use of mandatory arbitration can enable and hide sexual harassment and racist discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe use of mandatory arbitration provisions limits employees\u2019 remedies for wrongdoing, precludes employees from suing in court when discrimination and harassment occur, and can keep underlying facts, misconduct or case outcomes secret and thereby prevent employees from learning about and acting on shared concerns,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> impact fund said in a recent shareholder proposal.<\/p>\n<p>Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended shareholders vote for Nia\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/TESLA-RESULTS_.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves Manhattan federal court\" class=\"wp-image-19702151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/TESLA-RESULTS_.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/TESLA-RESULTS_.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/TESLA-RESULTS_.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The carmaker is famously helmed by Elon Musk.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS\/Brendan McDermid\/File Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tesla\u2019s vice president of people, Valerie Capers Workman, addressed the ruling in an email to employees Monday evening in which she downplayed the allegations. Tesla later published the email in a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tesla.com\/blog\/regarding-todays-jury-verdict\">blog post<\/a> after it leaked. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn addition to Mr. Diaz, three other witnesses (all non-Tesla contract employees) testified at trial that they regularly heard racial slurs (including the n-word) on the Fremont factory floor. While they all agreed that the use of the n-word was not appropriate in the workplace, they also agreed that most of the time they thought the language was used in a \u2018friendly\u2019 manner and usually by African-American colleagues,\u201d she wrote.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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The ex-employee, Owen Diaz, a former contractor who was hired through a staffing&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":348721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/racism-at-telsa-hp.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[117067,70446,4937,36402],"class_list":["post-348720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-10-5-21","tag-lawsuits","tag-racism","tag-tesla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}