Tesla loses bid to maneuver sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

May 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 assembly plant to non-public arbitration, allowing it to maneuver ahead in courtroom.

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 launched on Tuesday, Kaus mentioned Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to signal an arbitration agreement after she had already quit her earlier job.

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

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

The lawsuit is one in every of at the very least seven pending in California state court to make comparable claims towards Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 more of those instances.

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

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

"Because of this ruling... Tesla can be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's peers in a public courtroom," Lowe stated in a press release.

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

Tesla has mentioned 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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