By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) – Rocket maker SpaceX is being accused in a brand new lawsuit of refusing to advertise a feminine manufacturing employee, paying her lower than male colleagues and retaliating in opposition to her for reporting sexual harassment by her supervisor.
Michelle Dopak, a manufacturing coordinator at SpaceX headquarters in California, mentioned within the lawsuit filed in state court docket on Tuesday that firm officers together with president and chief working officer Gwynne Shotwell have ignored complaints by her and different staff of widespread bias in opposition to girls.
Dopak additionally mentioned her married supervisor pressured her into having a sexual relationship that resulted in a being pregnant. He provided her $100,000 to have an abortion, which she declined, after which SpaceX allowed him to switch $3.7 million in inventory choices out of his identify to keep away from paying baby help to the plaintiff, Dopak claims.
The lawsuit claims SpaceX is making an attempt to drive Dopak to stop by overloading her with work, regardless of lodging she is entitled to as a way to handle work-related stress.
SpaceX didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Wednesday.
Dopak is accusing SpaceX of discrimination, harassment, retaliation and paying her lower than males with comparable jobs in violation of California legislation. She is searching for unspecified damages.
The lawsuit comes as SpaceX is already preventing a proposed class motion filed in October claiming it pays and promotes girls and minorities lower than white males. In the meantime, a California civil rights company is investigating complaints by a bunch of former engineers claiming that the corporate tolerates rampant discrimination and harassment in opposition to feminine staff.
SpaceX can also be dealing with a separate case earlier than a U.S. labor board claiming those self same engineers have been unlawfully fired for circulating a letter accusing founder and CEO Elon Musk of sexism.
The corporate has denied wrongdoing, and has filed a lawsuit searching for to dam the case by claiming that the labor board’s construction and in-house enforcement proceedings violate the U.S. Structure.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Enhancing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Nick Zieminski)
