The court in the southern city of Campinas, where the factory is located, said employees who suffered workplace injuries were sidelined on their return to work and “exposed to humiliating and degrading situations,” including racial discrimination.

Court documents showed that, between 2004 and 2019, several workers at Mercedes-Benz’s biggest parts distribution and logistics centre outside Germany were mistreated after suffering workplace illnesses or injuries.

On their return to work from sick leave, they suffered “isolation, including physical isolation” and were “deprived of opportunities for promotion and salary increases after being designated a ‘divergent group’.”

One worker testified that he was called a “monkey son of a b****” by a colleague of his boss for not being able to carry more than 5kg of materials.

The victim filed a complaint with his supervisor but instead received a three-day suspension from work.

Another of the plaintiffs, who is black, said that when he returned to the job he was assigned tasks such as serving coffee and washing the car of a manager, who on one occasion mocked his skin colour.

The judge in the case rejected Mercedes-Benz’s claim that the practices were “isolated incidents,” saying to accept that explanation would represent a “serious” setback for workers’ rights.

Mercedes-Benz did not immediately respond to an AFP query about the case.