SpaceX and the company's CEO, Elon Musk, faced a lawsuit on Wednesday from former employees who claim wrongful termination for raising concerns about gender discrimination and sexual harassment at the rocket company.
The Dark Side of SpaceX's Workplace: Gender Bias and Harassment
In a lawsuit filed in California state court, eight engineers, four women and four men, who were terminated in 2022 allege that Elon Musk, aiming to lead the way in space travel innovation, operates SpaceX in the dark ages, treating women as objects of sexual desire, evaluating them based on their bra size, fostering a workplace environment filled with lewd sexual banter, and responding to objections about the Animal House atmosphere by suggesting dissenters find employment elsewhere.
The eight former employees who filed the lawsuit were among those who participated in crafting a 2022 open letter that criticized Musk and called on SpaceX executives to foster a more inclusive culture. Signed by at least 400 other employees, the letter urged SpaceX management to clarify that Musk's statements, especially those on Twitter, did not represent the company's views or values and asserted that SpaceX's purported "No A**hole" policy was not effectively implemented.
The former employees claim that engineers frequently used crude and demeaning names for products that often target women and LGBTQ+ individuals, such as Upskirt Camera, which is a term being used to refer to a camera on the first stage of the Falcon rocket, observing the underside of the second stage. Another instance being outlined in the complaint alleges a SpaceX HR director responding to allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior during an internal event by saying he must not be hot enough because he has never been sexually harassed.
The plaintiffs asserted in the lawsuit that these actions had the foreseeable and actual effect of causing offense, distress, and disruption to their emotional well-being in the workplace.
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The company has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the 2022 letter was disruptive and that the terminated employees were appropriately dismissed for breaching company policies.
Holding SpaceX Accountable
Paige Holland-Thielen, one of the plaintiffs, emphasized in a statement provided by her lawyers that Wednesday's lawsuit aims to hold SpaceX leadership accountable and drive revisions to workplace policies. She encouraged her colleagues to remain resilient and continue advocating for a better workplace.
The eight engineers' termination is currently at the center of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board case for alleged violations of their rights to advocate for improved working conditions under U.S. labor law.
SpaceX initiated a lawsuit asserting that the labor board's in-house enforcement proceedings violate the U.S. Constitution. Last month, a U.S. appeals court temporarily halted the NLRB case while it reviewed SpaceX's request to prevent it from progressing until the resolution of the company's lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleges that SpaceX and Musk engaged in retaliation and wrongful termination, contravening California law, along with sexual harassment and sex discrimination. It also contends that SpaceX fails to address the harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation as employees perceive them. The plaintiffs are pursuing unspecified monetary damages to cover lost wages, earnings, employee benefits, emotional distress, and an injunction to prevent SpaceX from continuing its alleged unlawful behavior.
