SpaceX must face sex-bias claims after appeals court rejects arbitration request
SPCX•SPCX•SPCX•SPCX•A U.S. appeals court rejected SpaceX’s request to move a lawsuit by eight engineers into private arbitration, allowing their sex-bias and harassment claims to continue in court. SpaceX has denied the allegations.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge’s ruling that the engineers’ claims are exempt from arbitration agreements they signed at SpaceX. The court rejected SpaceX’s argument that the claims were not covered by a federal law allowing individuals to pursue lawsuits in sexual harassment disputes regardless of arbitration agreements.
The engineers sued in 2024, claiming CEO Elon Musk ordered their firing after they circulated a letter criticizing his sexually charged social media comments. The lawsuit alleges that female engineers faced routine harassment and sexist comments at SpaceX. SpaceX has denied the allegations.
