Tesla loses bid to move sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

Could 24 (Reuters) - A California state judge has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to ship a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment on the firm's flagship assembly plant to personal arbitration, permitting it to maneuver ahead in courtroom.

California Superior Courtroom Decide 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 quit her previous job.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tesla has mentioned 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, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien

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