News site Aljazeera turned to LVBH Attorney Hilary Hammell for comment on a trial in San Francisco where an assembly line worker alleges racism was rampant at the Tesla manufacturing plant. The article – Tesla to face racism allegations from Black worker in open court — focuses on the first hurdle many workers must overcome to bring their cases to trial — defeating forced arbitration.
Hilary Hammell, along with LVBH partner Jean Hyams, penned an opinion piece for the Washington Post last year calling on employers to end forced arbitration clauses and stop actively shielding themselves from accountability in court for race discrimination in their workplaces.
In commenting on Tesla being held to account in court, Hammell told Aljazeera “For Tesla to have to defend itself in the public eye is very important.”
October 4, 2021 Update: Underscoring the importance of the right to trial by jury rather than private arbitration, today a jury rendered a verdict in favor of the employee, Owen Diaz, for $6.9 million in damages and further awarded $130,000,000 in punitive damages against Tesla.
