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 send a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment on the firm's flagship assembly plant to non-public arbitration, allowing it to move forward in courtroom.

California Superior Courtroom Decide Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's motion 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 sign an arbitration agreement after she had already stop her earlier job.

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"Mainly, 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 female workers, and that the corporate failed to deal with complaints.

The lawsuit is considered one of at the least seven pending in California state court to make comparable claims towards Tesla. Kaus is presiding over 5 more of these cases.

Tesla didn't instantly 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 can be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's friends in a public courtroom," Lowe stated in a statement.

Together with the pending sexual harassment claims, Tesla is going through separate lawsuits accusing it of tolerating widespread race discrimination at its plants. A California judge last month awarded $15 million to a Black former manufacturing unit worker who mentioned he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. learn more

Tesla has stated it doesn't 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

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.