Harassment, sexist remarks and unlawful dismissal — SpaceX will have to answer the allegations in court
Kyiv • UNN
A U.S. appeals court rejected SpaceX’s attempt to send a lawsuit filed by eight engineers to arbitration. The employees accuse the company of\r\nunlawful dismissals after complaining of harassment and discrimination.
SpaceX must face a lawsuit accusing it of illegally firing eight engineers. The employees raised concerns about alleged sexual harassment and discrimination at the company, after which, they say, they were dismissed. On Tuesday, a U.S. appeals court rejected SpaceX's motion to transfer the case to private arbitration, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (based in San Francisco) upheld a federal judge's ruling that the engineers' claims are not subject to the arbitration agreements they signed while working at SpaceX, and therefore the case may proceed in court.
SpaceX representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
The engineers' attorney, Lori Burgess, said they were "very pleased" with the court's "well-reasoned" decision.
The engineers filed the lawsuit in 2024, alleging that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk ordered their dismissals after they circulated a letter calling the billionaire a "source of distraction and embarrassment" and urging the company's leadership to distance itself from his sexual comments on social media.
The lawsuit states that Musk's behavior contributed to the creation of an "atmosphere of pervasive sexism" at SpaceX, where female engineers systematically faced harassment and sexist remarks.
SpaceX denies these allegations.
On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected SpaceX's argument that the claims are not covered by a federal law allowing individuals to bring cases involving "sexual harassment" to court regardless of the existence of arbitration agreements.