Tesla loses bid to maneuver sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

Might 24 (Reuters) - A California state choose 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, permitting it to maneuver ahead in court.

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

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

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"Basically, Barraza was ambushed," the judge wrote.

Barraza in the lawsuit filed in November claims staff and supervisors at the Fremont, California plant routinely made lewd comments and gestures to feminine staff, and that the company failed to address complaints.

The lawsuit is one in every of at the very least seven pending in California state courtroom to make similar claims against Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 extra of these instances.

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

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

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

Along with the pending sexual harassment claims, Tesla is facing 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 stated he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. learn more

Tesla has mentioned it does not 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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