Diaz v. Tesla (Race Harassment)

Record Breaking Jury Verdict For The Largest Race Discrimination Case in US History ($137,000,000)

Owen Diaz brought a race harassment case against Tesla, Inc. under the Civil Rights Act of 1866 because he was forced to endure widespread use of the N-word and other racist conduct. A Jury has found that from 2015 to 2016, Mr. Diaz was subjected to severe and pervasive racial harassment. He was called the N-word over sixty times by supervisors and he was told to “go back to Africa.”

One supervisor left a picaninny drawing on some recycled cardboard near the elevators where Mr. Diaz would find it. Mr. Diaz saw racist graffiti in multiple bathrooms throughout Tesla’s Fremont, CA factory. Mr. Diaz also witnessed his son being called the N-word by his son’s supervisor.

Mr. Diaz first complained about the N-word to his lead just under 2 months after starting at Tesla. Several employees corroborated the conduct. No remedial action was taken to ensure that other employees did not engage in similar conduct. In fact, one of his supervisors claimed that it was not corroborated in an email even though at trial he admitted it was. In addition to Mr. Diaz, three other employees/supervisors heard the N-word on a daily basis as they walked around the factory. They did not take remedial action.

This verdict of $136.9 million is believed to be the largest jury verdict for a single plaintiff in a race harassment case in American history. CCRLG’s team included Partners Larry Organ and Navruz Avloni, Associate Cimone Nunley, Paralegal Sabrina Grislis, and Trial Specialist Susan Organ.