?A federal jury awarded a former Tesla worker $3.2 million for racial harassment—well below the $137 million a different jury awarded in 2021. A judge agreed then that Tesla was liable but ruled that the award of $137 million was excessive and ordered a new trial on damages after the plaintiff declined to accept a reduced $15 million award. We’ve gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other media outlets.
Plaintiff’s Allegations
The plaintiff, a Black man, claimed Tesla failed to act when he repeatedly complained to managers that employees at the Fremont, Calif., factory often used racist slurs and scrawled swastikas, racist caricatures and epithets on walls and work areas.
In testimony, the plaintiff tearfully recounted various incidents that he said made him anxious and strained his relationship with his son, who also worked at the plant.
(Reuters)
Tesla’s Arguments
Tesla’s attorney argued that the plaintiff should be awarded only damages amounting to approximately half of the plaintiff’s salary—some tens of thousands of dollars. Tesla’s attorney told jurors that the plaintiff “lied to you” and characterized the former contract worker as confrontational.
After the verdict, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, “If we had been allowed to introduce new evidence, the verdict would’ve been zero.”
During the most recent trial, the plaintiff’s attorney asked the jurors to make an example of Tesla, saying, “Do justice, and justice is not cheap.”
(CNBC)
Contractors Fired
After the 2021 trial, Tesla’s head of HR said the company had fired two contractors and suspended another in response to the plaintiff’s complaints. The now-former executive, Valerie Capers Workman, said that the company was “not perfect” in 2015 and 2016 but added that it had since come a long way.
(The New York Times) and (LA Times)
Another Case Against Tesla
The plaintiff’s recent trial is separate from another case brought by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), which said the agency had received “hundreds” of complaints from workers alleging racism and harassment at the Fremont factory.
(CNN)
Tesla’s Response to California’s Lawsuit
Tesla criticized California’s lawsuit after it was brought, arguing that the state agency had investigated dozens of previous claims in recent years and found no misconduct. “It therefore strains credibility for the agency to now allege, after a three-year investigation, that systematic racial discrimination and harassment somehow existed at Tesla,” the company said. “A narrative spun by the DFEH and a handful of plaintiff firms to generate publicity is not factual proof.”
(The New York Times) and (SHRM Online)
Ruling in DFEH Case Could Narrow Scope of the Lawsuit
On March 13, A California Superior Court judge ruled that the DFEH must detail the investigation it conducted prior to filing its lawsuit. The ruling could give Tesla an opportunity to narrow the state agency’s lawsuit. California law requires the department to investigate discrimination complaints by workers before suing employers. If the agency did not probe certain claims against Tesla before suing, the carmaker could seek to have the claims removed from the case.
