Tesla has been ordered to pay more than $3.2m in damages to former elevator operator Owen Diaz, after he experienced aggressive racism within the company in 2015.
$3m in punitive damages and an extra $175,000 in non-economic damages have been paid to Diaz, a black man who endured racist torment after being hired as a contract worker for the company.
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Unfortunately, this is not the first time Musk or other big tech businesses have faced similar repercussions.
Racist attacks like this rightfully leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouths, and the court settlement has sparked further concerns about the level of diversity in the tech world.
Georgina Calvert-Lee, barrister, employment law, and equality expert at Bellevue Law says: “Employers shouldn’t wait for a jury to make them pay $3 million to an employee subjected to racist abuse.”
Diaz claims he experienced racial obscenities, witnessed graffiti in his workspace of Inki the Caveman – a 1950s-era cartoon widely regarded as racist – and says he, at times, felt physically unsafe during his time at Tesla, CNBC reported.
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By GlobalDataAlthough the case was won by Diaz, experts believe Elon Musk and other big tech moguls need to do more to protect their staff and diversify their companies.
“They should take every step to repair the damage done voluntarily when [it is] brought to their notice and ensure it doesn’t happen again,” Calvert-Lee continues.
Adding: “Rather than waiting to be sued for harassment, employers should lean into diversity and inclusion through effective training, bystander policies, and procedures which allow anonymous reporting as well as providing support and counselling.”
Unfortunately, this settlement doesn’t seem to be the end of employees making claims of racism against Tesla.
A black man named John Goode, a former Tesla service manager, filed a lawsuit last week, claiming his white manager in Georgia made racist comments around him. He then claims he was fired on false pretenses after speaking up on the issues.
“Abuses of privilege, widespread bias, prejudice, and covert microaggressions exist from the top to the bottom of businesses in every industry,” Abi Adamson, founder and DEI director of the diversity partnership tells Verdict.
Adamson adds: “The sad reality is that in most instances when harm has taken place, someone in a position of privilege – often a leader or manager – has failed to interrupt.”
