Tesla loses bid to move sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

Might 24 (Reuters) - A California state judge has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to ship a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment on the company's flagship meeting plant to private arbitration, allowing it to maneuver forward in court.

California Superior Court docket Choose Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's movement to compel arbitration in a quick order on Monday.

In a written opinion released on Tuesday, Kaus stated Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to signal an arbitration settlement after she had already give up her previous job.

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"Mainly, Barraza was ambushed," the decide wrote.

Barraza in the lawsuit filed in November claims employees and supervisors at the Fremont, California plant routinely made lewd comments and gestures to female workers, and that the corporate failed to deal with complaints.

The lawsuit is one in all at the very least seven pending in California state courtroom to make related claims in opposition to Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 extra of those circumstances.

Tesla did not instantly respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

David Lowe, a lawyer for Barraza, called the decision "a victory for public accountability."

"Because of this ruling... Tesla will likely be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's friends in a public courtroom," Lowe said in a press release.

Along with the pending sexual harassment claims, Tesla is going through separate lawsuits accusing it of tolerating widespread race discrimination at its plants. A California choose final month awarded $15 million to a Black former manufacturing facility employee who said he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. learn more

Tesla has mentioned it doesn't tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired employees who engaged in misconduct.

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Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien

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