Tesla loses bid to maneuver sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

May 24 (Reuters) - A California state decide has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to send a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment on the firm's flagship meeting plant to private arbitration, permitting it to maneuver ahead in courtroom.

California Superior Court docket Choose 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 said Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to sign an arbitration agreement after she had already quit her previous job.

Register

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

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

The lawsuit is one among not less than seven pending in California state court to make related claims in opposition to Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 more of these circumstances.

Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Tuesday.

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

"Due to this ruling... Tesla will likely be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's friends in a public courtroom," Lowe stated 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 vegetation. A California choose final month awarded $15 million to a Black former factory employee who stated he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. learn more

Tesla has stated it does not tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired staff who engaged in misconduct.

Register

Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Enhancing by Rosalba O'Brien

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Principles.