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 at the firm's flagship meeting plant to personal arbitration, allowing it to maneuver forward in court.

California Superior Courtroom Judge Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's movement to compel arbitration in a brief order on Monday.

In a written opinion released on Tuesday, Kaus mentioned Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to sign an arbitration agreement after she had already stop her previous job.

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

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

The lawsuit is considered one of no less than seven pending in California state courtroom to make comparable claims in opposition to Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 extra of those cases.

Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

David Lowe, a lawyer for Barraza, known as the choice "a victory for public accountability."

"Due to this ruling... Tesla will be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's peers in a public courtroom," Lowe stated in an announcement.

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

Tesla has said it doesn't tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired staff 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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