- A female SpaceX employee has accused the company of gender discrimination and retaliation in a new lawsuit.
- The lawsuit alleges that the employee's former supervisor coerced her into a quid pro quo relationship.
- The employee said in her complaint that SpaceX continued to stand by her male boss even after he left.
A female SpaceX employee accuses the rocket company of discrimination and retaliation in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The employee, Michelle Daupak, said in the lawsuit that SpaceX paid her less than male employees and denied her promotions.
Dopak, a SpaceX production coordinator, also said in the lawsuit that her married manager coerced her into a quid pro quo sexual relationship that began in 2019 and eventually led to her becoming pregnant. She said SpaceX retaliated when she reported her extramarital affair after her manager left her company in 2022, according to the complaint.
Dopak said in her lawsuit that her manager offered her $100,000 for an abortion in 2020, but she declined. She is suing her company for an unspecified amount of damages. Reuters first reported the existence of the lawsuit.
Dopak is accused of colluding with her former manager by allowing her former manager to transfer $3.7 million in SpaceX stock out of her name in order to avoid paying child support, according to a lawsuit obtained by Business Insider. criticized.
Business Insider was unable to contact the former manager.
SpaceX representatives did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment.
The lawsuit also accuses SpaceX's top executives, including Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell, of ignoring complaints of gender discrimination. Dopak said in August 2018 that she and two other female employees on her team took to the stage to prove their worth and disprove rumors spread by male employees. He claimed he felt the need to submit a list of projects to Shotwell.
“However, despite their complaints, neither Shotwell nor SpaceX took any action,” the complaint states.
The 40-page lawsuit alleges that Dopak was denied promotions in favor of external male applicants, was paid less than her male colleagues, and was subjected to continued harassment and discrimination by the company after her pregnancy. is also included. .
According to the complaint, Dopak said the company is currently trying to force her to quit by piling on work and ignoring workplace accommodations.
Dopak's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
SpaceX is fighting another lawsuit after a class-action lawsuit was filed in October alleging that women and minority workers at the company are underpaid. The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has also filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, alleging discrimination against asylum seekers and refugees.
Last month, Bloomberg obtained a California civil rights complaint in which former SpaceX employees accuse company executives of joking about sexual harassment and firing employees who raised concerns. revealed.
The company has denied wrongdoing in previous lawsuits brought by former employees.
