Tesla loses bid to maneuver sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

Could 24 (Reuters) - A California state choose has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to ship a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment at the firm's flagship meeting plant to private arbitration, permitting it to move ahead in courtroom.

California Superior Courtroom Decide Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's movement to compel arbitration in a short order on Monday.

In a written opinion launched on Tuesday, Kaus said Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to sign an arbitration settlement after she had already give up her earlier job.

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

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

The lawsuit is one in every of not less than seven pending in California state court docket to make similar claims towards Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 extra of those circumstances.

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

David Lowe, a lawyer for Barraza, called 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 stated 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 crops. A California judge last 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 stated it does not tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired employees 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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