Tesla loses bid to maneuver 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 at the company's flagship meeting plant to non-public arbitration, allowing it to maneuver forward in court docket.

California Superior Court 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 sign an arbitration settlement after she had already give up her earlier job.

Register

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

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

The lawsuit is one among at the very least seven pending in California state courtroom to make similar claims against Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 more of those cases.

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

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

"Due to this ruling... Tesla might be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's peers in a public courtroom," Lowe mentioned in a press release.

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

Tesla has stated it does not tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired staff who engaged in misconduct.

Register

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

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.