Tesla loses bid to maneuver sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

Could 24 (Reuters) - A California state judge has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to ship a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment on the company's flagship meeting plant to private arbitration, permitting it to move ahead in court.

California Superior Court docket Decide Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's movement to compel arbitration in a short order on Monday.

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

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

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

The lawsuit is one in every of at the very least seven pending in California state court docket to make comparable claims against 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 decision "a victory for public accountability."

"Due to this ruling... Tesla shall 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 last month awarded $15 million to a Black former manufacturing unit worker who stated he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read extra

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