• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: A Sports Car from a Company You've Never Heard Of
  • Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3
  • Overlanding is the New Hotness
  • New Vehicle Sales Increase in September
  • Are EVs Affordable? Only if You’re a Luxury Buyer
  • Honda Takes Wraps Off New All-Electric Prologue
  • Mercedes to Offer True Self-Driving in Late 2023
  • Biden Meets UAW Picketers, Offers Support
  • Ford Halts $3.5B MI Battery Plant; Fain Slams Company
  • An Electric Acura NSX Could Be Coming
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Buick Encore GX Sport Touring AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 250+
    • A Week With: 2024 Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV
    • A Week With: The 2024 BMW i7 xDrive60
    • A Week With: 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid
    • A Week With: 2024 Subaru Impreza RS
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Desert Boss
    • First Drive: 2024 Polestar 2
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Lawsuits/Legal > Tesla Back in Court on $137M Race Discrimination Suit

        Tesla Back in Court on $137M Race Discrimination Suit

        Trial judge reduced jury verdict by almost 90%.

        Jeff Zurschmeide
        Jeff Zurschmeide , Executive Editor
        March 27, 2023

        Tesla is back in court this week as a plaintiff seeks to restore a $137 million verdict in a racial discrimination lawsuit.

        Tesla factory front 2018
        Tesla is back in court to determine if an employee awarded $137M in damages should get that amount.

        The EV maker has faced similar lawsuits — as well as sexual discrimination suits — in the past. The new trial will determine the amount of damages to be paid to a Black employee who endured racial taunts and harassment at the company’s Fremont, California manufacturing facility. 

        According to a Reuters report, the new trial is scheduled to conclude by the end of this week. The repeat of the damages portion of the trial is necessary because the original trial judge reduced the jury’s $137 million judgment to $15 million. 

        The plaintiff, Owen Diaz, is seeking a new action to restore the judgment, which is one of the largest ever awarded in a workplace discrimination suit. 

        The original trial concluded in 2021 with the larger judgment. The presiding U.S. District Court Federal Judge, William Orrick, accepted the guilty verdict against Tesla, but based on U.S. Supreme Court guidelines, reduced the damages judgment to $15 million. The Supreme Court has ruled that punitive damages should not exceed 10 times the amount of compensation damages.

        The original trial jury awarded Diaz almost $7 million in compensation, and then issued a judgement for $130 million in punitive damages against Tesla. Orrick reduced the judgement to $1.5 million in compensation and $13.7 million in punitive damages. 

        Tesla took 5,000 orders for the Model 3 last week, Musk said, but ultimately its production goal is 10,000 a week.
        Tesla employees have been accused in multiple lawsuits of creating a hostile working environment.

        Now Orrick is again presiding over the new damages trial and has ruled that no new evidence or witnesses may be presented. However, Diaz and other workers and management at Tesla do plan to testify. 

        Other employees allege the same behavior

        The year 2017 was full of employee harassment suits at Tesla. As an example, former Tesla employee Melvin Berry got $1M in arbitration. Berry, who is Black, alleged that he was called a racial slur at work, and fellow employees drew swastikas and other offensive graffiti around the Fremont plant. 

        “I hope the world knows that an arbitrator found Tesla treats its employees like this,” the 47-year-old Berry told Bloomberg News in a telephone interview at the time.

        The arbitrator’s judgment was supposed to be confidential, but later became a matter of public record when Berry was forced to sue in civil court to compel Tesla to actually pay the judgment. 

        Also in 2017, a lawsuit filed by Marcus Vaughn alleged that he was also called by a racial slur by co-workers and managers. Vaughn, who is Black, sued Tesla for inaction. 

        Tesla CEO Musk at semi delivery event
        Might Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly said the company doesn’t tolerate discriminatory behavior.

        “Although Tesla stands out as a groundbreaking company at the forefront of the electric car revolution, its standard operating procedure at the Tesla factory is pre-Civil Rights era race discrimination,” stated Vaughn’s lawsuit.

        Sexual harassment issues

        Tesla is also facing lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and discrimination. Again in 2017, a lawsuit was filed by former employee A.J. Vandermeyden, who accuses the automaker of tolerating a culture of “pervasive harassment” at its assembly plant in Fremont, California.

        In a report by the Guardian newspaper, the 33-year-old Vandermeyden opened up about why she was suing Tesla for sexual harassment after being fired from her job in Fremont. The paper outlined conditions that many employees described during a Tesla town hall meeting earlier this year as a “predator zone,” where, they charged, female workers were open targets for male bosses.

        The newspaper said more than 100 people attended the March town hall meeting, with at least 20 women openly expressing their concerns about harassment, limited diversity programs and the lack of women in managerial positions.

        In her lawsuit Vandermeyden notes she was hired by Tesla in 2013 and was subsequently promoted to a manufacturing engineering position. But she claims she and other women in the factory received lower pay than men in similar roles, often despite having superior qualifications. She also claims she was targeted for harassment after speaking out. She went public in February, a month before the town hall meeting.

        In May, Tesla hired its first C-suite female executive, Gaby Toledano, to oversee human relations. One of her first moves was to fire Vandermeyden.

        “I’m the one who spoke up, and they’re saying, ‘One way or another, you have to leave.’ How is that right?” Vandermeyden said during her interview.

        Tesla has repeatedly stated that the company does not tolerate discrimination, takes complaints by workers seriously and disciplines employees who violate anti-bias policies.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: A Sports Car from a Company You’ve Never Heard Of

        Sept. 30, 2023

        Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3

        Sept. 29, 2023

        Overlanding is the New Hotness

        Sept. 29, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: