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Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A civil lawsuit filed in California Thursday claims that an employee suffered from "rampant sexual harassment" at Elon Musk's Tesla plant in Fremont, Calif., causing her to seek mental health treatment and to take a medical leave. Jessica Barraza said Tesla leaders fostered the constant climate of harassment, where she repeatedly endured catcalls, and unwanted touching and more physical contact, according to the lawsuit.
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The lawsuit filed in California Superior Court in Alameda County said Barraza was propositioned by a supervisory lead over text message and was frequently brushed up against her backside multiple times a week.
The lawsuit described her experiences as "nightmarish" and said the factory was more like "a crude, archaic construction site or frat house than a cutting-edge company in the heart of the progressive San Francisco Bay area," The Hill newspaper reported.
Tesla had already lost a $137 million verdict in favor of another worker at the same Fremont plant who said he sustained pervasive racism there.
One juror told Bloomberg News they hoped the verdict would force Tesla, which is currently appealing the decision, and its executives to at least "take the most basic preventative measures and precautions they neglected to take as a large corporation."
