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 non-public arbitration, allowing it to maneuver forward in courtroom.

California Superior Court docket Decide Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's motion 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 signal an arbitration settlement after she had already give up her earlier job.

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"Principally, Barraza was ambushed," the judge 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 employees, and that the corporate failed to deal with complaints.

The lawsuit is one of at the least seven pending in California state court docket to make comparable claims in opposition to Tesla. Kaus is presiding over five more of these cases.

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

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

"Because of this ruling... Tesla will probably be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's friends in a public courtroom," Lowe mentioned in an announcement.

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 decide final month awarded $15 million to a Black former factory employee who said he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. learn extra

Tesla has mentioned 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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