Tesla loses bid to maneuver sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

Might 24 (Reuters) - A California state decide 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 move ahead in court.

California Superior Courtroom Decide Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's movement 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 agreement after she had already quit her previous job.

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

Barraza in the lawsuit filed in November claims employees and supervisors at the Fremont, California plant routinely made lewd comments and gestures to feminine workers, and that the company failed to address complaints.

The lawsuit is one among a minimum of seven pending in California state court docket to make comparable claims against Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 extra of those circumstances.

Tesla did not immediately 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 probably be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's friends in a public courtroom," Lowe mentioned in an announcement.

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 last month awarded $15 million to a Black former manufacturing facility worker who mentioned he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read extra

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, Modifying by Rosalba O'Brien

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Ideas.