Tesla loses bid to move sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

May 24 (Reuters) - A California state choose has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to send a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment at the firm's flagship assembly plant to private arbitration, allowing it to move ahead in court.

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 sign an arbitration agreement after she had already give up her previous job.

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"Mainly, Barraza was ambushed," the decide 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 corporate failed to deal with complaints.

The lawsuit is one of at least seven pending in California state court to make related claims towards Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 more of these circumstances.

Tesla didn't instantly 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 might be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's peers in a public courtroom," Lowe stated in an announcement.

Along with the pending sexual harassment claims, Tesla is going through separate lawsuits accusing it of tolerating widespread race discrimination at its vegetation. A California choose last month awarded $15 million to a Black former factory worker who mentioned he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read more

Tesla has mentioned it doesn't tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired staff 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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