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Tesla worker wins fresh trial over race discrimination after turning down $15 million damages

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Judge orders new trial for damages in Tesla worker's race bias lawsuit

A former Tesla worker who won a racial discrimination case will have a fresh trial after turning down a payment of $15 million.

Owen Diaz was originally awarded a staggering $137 million from Elon Musk's company in October.

However, that was reduced to $15 million by U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco, who deemed it to be excessive.

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Diaz said in his 2017 complaint that his colleagues and a supervisor at Tesla's Fremont, California, assembly factory subjected him to a hostile work environment that included racist insults, caricatures, and swastikas.

He won the case and the payment was one of the highest judgements ever in a discrimination lawsuit.

Now, the former elevator operator has rejected the judge's decision to reduce the payout in favour of another trial.

Tesla and Diaz's lawyers did not reply quickly to demands for comment.

Diaz was given $137 million by a jury in October, one of the highest judgments ever in a discrimination lawsuit involving a single worker.

Orrick ruled in April that Tesla was liable to Diaz for discrimination, but he reduced the award to $15 million because it was excessive.

Diaz's attorneys claimed last week that the reduced award was unfair and violated his fundamental rights.

Orrick did not set a new trial date but did schedule a conference for July 12.

Tesla is facing a slew of lawsuits alleging systemic racial and sexual harassment at its Fremont facility, including one filed by a California civil rights agency.

This month, a Tesla shareholder sued the company's CEO, Elon Musk, and board of directors, accusing them of ignoring worker complaints and promoting a hostile working atmosphere.

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Tesla has refuted the allegations and stated that the company has measures in place to prevent and resolve workplace misbehavior.

Source: AutoNews

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