SpaceX execs accused of sexual harassment, firing workers who raised alarms: filings
NY Post
SpaceX executives allegedly made crass, sexually charged remarks in the workplace, discriminated against female employees and fired workers who raised alarms about the conduct, according to California civil rights complaints.
The allegations were made by seven California-based former employees who were fired by SpaceX in 2022 – shortly after they circulated an open letter ripping CEO Elon Musk’s public conduct as a “distraction and embarrassment” to the space firm.
The California Civil Rights Department notified SpaceX of the nature of the complaints last month, according to Bloomberg, which obtained copies of the complaints. SpaceX likely has 30 days to respond to the filings.
One of the employees, Paige Holland-Thielen, described an incident in which she approached an unnamed manager to discuss another colleague’s “inappropriate behavior.”
Before she could explain what had happened, the manager allegedly saw downward-pointing data open on her computer screen, made a sexually-charged remark and asked Holland-Thielen, “How can we get it, up, up, up?”
The workers allege that SpaceX’s failure to address their concerns violated California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, which prohibits sex-based discrimination and retaliation.