Tesla loses bid to maneuver sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

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

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

The lawsuit is one among no less than seven pending in California state court docket to make comparable claims in opposition to Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 more of those circumstances.

Tesla did not 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 will likely be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's peers in a public courtroom," Lowe said 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 plants. A California judge final month awarded $15 million to a Black former manufacturing unit employee who said he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read more

Tesla has stated 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

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Ideas.