C.E.O. of Tesla, Chief Engineer of SpaceX and C.T.O. of X Elon Musk speaks throughout the New York Times annual DealBook summit on November 29, 2023 in New York City.
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The U.S. National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint towards SpaceX, alleging that Elon Musk’s protection contractor illegally fired eight workers after they wrote an open letter vital of Musk — and accused the office of being selectively permissive of sexual harassment.
CNBC obtained a replica of the NLRB complaint through a Freedom of Information Act request. The complaint says the eight workers of SpaceX “engaged in concerted actions with different workers for the functions of mutual help or safety by drafting and distributing an open letter” detailing their office issues.
In their open letter, the SpaceX workers at the moment wrote that Musk’s “conduct in the public sphere is a frequent supply of distraction and embarrassment for us.” They wrote that his divisive posts on social media, in addition to alleged sexual misconduct on his half, went towards SpaceX’s personal “no assholes” and “zero tolerance” insurance policies.
The workers’ open letter was posted internally at SpaceX, after Business Insider reported that Musk had propositioned and uncovered himself to a flight attendant on one of the firm’s personal jets in 2016, resulting in a sexual harassment declare towards the CEO, which SpaceX reportedly settled for $250,000 in 2018.
Musk has denied the sexual misconduct allegations, calling them “wild accusations.” After the report by Business Insider, SpaceX COO and President Gwynne Shotwell additionally defended Musk towards allegations of sexual harassment.
After the then-SpaceX workers penned the open letter, the NLRB discovered that firm administration engaged in “interrogation” of the authors and “made coercive statements” to them, together with “inviting” the workers to “stop in the event that they disagreed with the conduct of Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk.” Eventually, the NLRB complaint says, SpaceX illegally fired these workers over the protected speech.
Musk payments himself as a free speech advocate or absolutist. However, as CNBC has previously reported, his firms have repeatedly sought to stifle others’ speech when it has been vital of Musk or his companies. For instance, beneath Musk’s possession, the social community previously often called Twitter (now X) has suspended accounts of customers sharing data or remarks vital of Musk or his firms, together with software program developer Travis Brown, and Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, a web-based database of authorized and public data.
Laurie Burgess, an legal professional representing the SpaceX workers who have been fired after publishing their open letter, informed CNBC her purchasers have additionally filed a proper complaint with the California Civil Rights Department alleging “failure to appropriate sexual harassment at SpaceX.”
SpaceX has important operations and headquarters in Hawthorne, California. SpaceX didn’t reply to requests for remark, and the CRD didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
A spokesperson for the NLRB informed CNBC through e-mail on Wednesday that the labor company’s Los Angeles regional director issued the consolidated complaint towards SpaceX on Wednesday, after investigating ex-employees’ allegations.
That NLRB regional workplace will now search a settlement between SpaceX and the ex-employees who have been dismissed after talking out. If they do not settle, they’ll proceed to a listening to earlier than an NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) beginning on March 5, 2024 in Los Angeles. Such a decide’s resolution is just not essentially remaining and could possibly be appealed to the board of the NLRB and federal appeals court docket.
Read the full complaint from the federal company right here: