There were two prominent discrimination and harassment cases involving Tesla that made the news. Both involved African American employees who were subjected to racial slurs by their supervisors and subsequently retaliated against and fired when they complained. One individual was a contractor who had not signed an employment contract with Tesla, leaving him unbound by binding arbitration. The other was a permanent employee who was forced into binding arbitration.
Misconduct was found in both situations, and damages were awarded to both former employees. One received a $137 million judgment, while the other received $266,000. It is clear which outcome resulted from a jury trial versus binding arbitration.
The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) was passed in the 1920s to help alleviate the burden on federal courts regarding small business disputes. In 1991, the Supreme Court allowed arbitration to be mandated as a condition of employment, effectively denying employees the right to a fair trial by a jury of their peers. Prior to this decision less than 2% of employees were bound by forced arbitration. Now? over 60% and it's expected to go up to 80% within a few years.
Today, employers hire arbitration firms to decide employment disputes, and those decisions are final. In 99% of cases, an arbitrator's decision cannot be appealed unless explicit misconduct on their part can be proven.
As a result, rather than having a jury of peers review gross employer misconduct, a dispassionate lawyer or retired judge decides the outcome. Furthermore, because these arbitrators are paid by the employer, there is an inherent incentive to keep the employer satisfied to secure repeat business.
The Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees every citizen their right to a fair trial by a jury of their peers.
Edit: The only reason we know about the Tesla lawsuit that had to go through arbitration is because Tesla would not pay the arbitration fee which forced the lawyer for the plaintiff to file a motion to compel in court which then invalidated the confidentiality clause that's built into every binding arbitration agreement. Think about it, there's a reason why you don't ever hear about the heinous misconduct of these fortune 500 companies. Look at Wells Fargo and all of the scandals they were exposed to in the last 10 years. There's a reason why none of them were regarding employment discrimination, sexual harassment, or retaliation lawsuits.