(Reuters) – A federal judge on Wednesday said a $137 million jury award, one of the largest of its kind, to a Black former factory worker who sued Tesla Inc for racial discrimination was excessive and should be reduced to $15 million.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco ruled after jurors last October had found Tesla liable to Owen Diaz, who worked as an elevator operator at its factory in Fremont, California.
Jurors determined that Diaz had been subjected to a hostile work environment based on his race.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Daniel Wiessner in New York; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)