Tesla reportedly paid ex-employee $ 1 million for insults

A former Tesla employee made $ 1million from the company after finding out Tesla had failed to act when a supervisor referred to that employee, Melvin Berry, with a racial insult, Bloomberg Law reports.

Berry, who is black, was hired at the Tesla factory in Alameda, Calif., In 2015. He recently filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that a supervisor called him the n-word, then , after Berry confronted him, forced Berry to work longer and perform more physically demanding tasks than his colleagues.

Tesla denied the allegations, but arbitrator Elaine Rushing gave credit to the allegations, saying in an unprecedented May 12 hearing: “The case law is clear that a case where a supervisor directs the N word to a subordinate is sufficient to constitute serious harassment. “

Bloomberg Law notes that cases involving alleged racial discrimination can present difficulties in winning a settlement, as it can often difficult to prove that there was harassment. In Berry’s case, for example, it might be difficult to verify that his supervisor actually asked him to do more physically demanding work due to the color of his skin. that a big one settlement took place suggests that there was ample evidence to support Berry’s claim.

Here’s a bit more of the story of how the outcome of the arbitration, which is normally kept confidential, was revealed:

While Berry’s arbitration was confidential, what I haveAs is typical, his victory was revealed in a standard petition his lawyer filed in court to enforce the arbitrator’s order. His lawyer, Lawrence Organ, said in a telephone interview that his client would not take any further legal action because Tesla has since paid the price.

Three-quarters of the $ 1.02 million award is for legal fees and legal costs for Berry. Rushing also ordered Tesla to pay the ex-ememployee $ 266,278.50 in damages, including $ 100,000 to compensate for emotional distress.

Tesla, for his part, alleged that Berry had left voluntarily, left no written record of the supervisor referring to him by insulting him, and deserved only $ 148 for economic losses.

The settlement comes after further allegations of racial discrimination at Tesla factories. Marcus Vaughn, also an employee of the Fremont plant, sued the company in 2017 because he alleged the company had failed to investigate its written report that co-workers and supervisors also called it the n-word. A different The lawsuit alleged Tesla failed to quickly clean up the hateful graffiti in the common areas.