Tesla loses bid to maneuver sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

May 24 (Reuters) - A California state choose has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to ship a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment on the firm's flagship meeting plant to non-public arbitration, allowing it to maneuver ahead in courtroom.

California Superior Court 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 said Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to signal an arbitration settlement after she had already stop her earlier job.

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

Barraza within the lawsuit filed in November claims staff and supervisors on the Fremont, California plant routinely made lewd comments and gestures to feminine workers, and that the corporate failed to address complaints.

The lawsuit is one in all at the least seven pending in California state court to make related claims towards Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 extra of these circumstances.

Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for touch upon Tuesday.

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

"Due to this ruling... Tesla can be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's peers in a public courtroom," Lowe stated in a press release.

Together with the pending sexual harassment claims, Tesla is dealing with separate lawsuits accusing it of tolerating widespread race discrimination at its vegetation. A California judge last month awarded $15 million to a Black former factory employee who said he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read extra

Tesla has mentioned it does not tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired employees who engaged in misconduct.

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

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