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 company's flagship meeting plant to personal arbitration, allowing it to move 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 stated Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to sign an arbitration agreement after she had already stop her earlier job.

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

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

The lawsuit is one of at the very least seven pending in California state court to make similar claims against Tesla. Kaus is presiding over five more of these instances.

Tesla didn't instantly reply to a request for comment on Tuesday.

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

"Because of this ruling... Tesla shall be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's friends in a public courtroom," Lowe mentioned in a press release.

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 decide last month awarded $15 million to a Black former manufacturing facility employee who mentioned he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read more

Tesla has stated it doesn't tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired workers 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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