Tesla loses bid to move sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

Could 24 (Reuters) - A California state judge has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to send a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment at the firm's flagship meeting plant to personal arbitration, permitting it to maneuver forward in court.

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

In a written opinion released on Tuesday, Kaus stated Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to signal an arbitration settlement after she had already stop her previous job.

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

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

The lawsuit is one of at the very least seven pending in California state courtroom to make related claims against Tesla. Kaus is presiding over five extra of these instances.

Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

David Lowe, a lawyer for Barraza, known as 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 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 crops. A California judge final month awarded $15 million to a Black former factory worker who said he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read more

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, Enhancing by Rosalba O'Brien

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