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 ship a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment on the company's flagship assembly plant to non-public arbitration, permitting it to move forward in court docket.

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

In a written opinion launched on Tuesday, Kaus mentioned Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to signal an arbitration settlement after she had already give up her earlier job.

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"Principally, 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 comments and gestures to feminine workers, and that the corporate failed to handle complaints.

The lawsuit is considered one of a minimum of seven pending in California state court to make comparable claims against Tesla. Kaus is presiding over five more of these cases.

Tesla didn't instantly reply to a request for touch upon Tuesday.

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

"Because of this ruling... Tesla will likely be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's friends in a public courtroom," Lowe mentioned 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 final month awarded $15 million to a Black former manufacturing unit employee who mentioned he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read more

Tesla has said it does not tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired staff 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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