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 ship a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment at the firm's flagship assembly plant to personal arbitration, permitting it to maneuver forward in court.

California Superior Court docket Judge Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's motion to compel arbitration in a brief order on Monday.

In a written opinion released on Tuesday, Kaus mentioned Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to signal an arbitration settlement after she had already quit her earlier job.

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

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

The lawsuit is one of a minimum of seven pending in California state court to make similar claims in opposition to Tesla. Kaus is presiding over five extra of those circumstances.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for touch upon Tuesday.

David Lowe, a lawyer for Barraza, called 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 said in a statement.

Along with the pending sexual harassment claims, Tesla is facing 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 worker 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 workers 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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