Tesla loses bid to move sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

May 24 (Reuters) - A California state judge has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to send a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment at the company's flagship meeting plant to non-public arbitration, allowing it to maneuver ahead in court docket.

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

In a written opinion launched on Tuesday, Kaus stated Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to sign an arbitration agreement after she had already stop her earlier job.

Register

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

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

The lawsuit is certainly one of at least seven pending in California state courtroom to make similar claims towards Tesla. Kaus is presiding over five extra of those instances.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

David Lowe, a lawyer for Barraza, called the decision "a victory for public accountability."

"Due to this ruling... Tesla will probably be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's peers in a public courtroom," Lowe said in a statement.

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 choose 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 said it doesn't tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired workers who engaged in misconduct.

Register

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

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.