Tesla loses bid to move sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

Could 24 (Reuters) - A California state decide has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to send a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment on the company's flagship assembly plant to non-public arbitration, permitting it to maneuver ahead in court.

California Superior Courtroom Decide Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's motion 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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"Principally, Barraza was ambushed," the judge wrote.

Barraza in the lawsuit filed in November claims workers and supervisors on the Fremont, California plant routinely made lewd comments and gestures to feminine workers, and that the company failed to deal with complaints.

The lawsuit is certainly one of at least seven pending in California state court docket to make comparable claims towards Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 extra of those cases.

Tesla didn't instantly respond to a request for touch upon Tuesday.

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

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

Together with the pending sexual harassment claims, Tesla is going through separate lawsuits accusing it of tolerating widespread race discrimination at its crops. A California decide final month awarded $15 million to a Black former factory worker who mentioned he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read more

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, Enhancing by Rosalba O'Brien

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