Tesla loses bid to move 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 Choose 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 said Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to signal an arbitration settlement after she had already give up her previous job.

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"Principally, 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 employees, and that the corporate failed to address complaints.

The lawsuit is one among at the least seven pending in California state court to make similar claims in opposition to Tesla. Kaus is presiding over five extra of those 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."

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

Together with the pending sexual harassment claims, Tesla is facing separate lawsuits accusing it of tolerating widespread race discrimination at its plants. A California decide last 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 said it doesn't tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired employees who engaged in misconduct.

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

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