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 send a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment on the company's flagship meeting plant to non-public arbitration, permitting it to maneuver forward in court.

California Superior Court Decide Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's motion 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 stop her previous job.

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

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

The lawsuit is one of no less than seven pending in California state courtroom to make related claims against Tesla. Kaus is presiding over five more of these circumstances.

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

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

"Because of this ruling... Tesla might be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's friends in a public courtroom," Lowe stated in a statement.

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

Tesla has stated it does not 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

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Ideas.