3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 11
Summary
A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel upheld a ruling letting eight former SpaceX employees pursue sexual-harassment claims in court rather than private arbitration.
The judges said a federal law allows sexual-harassment plaintiffs to bypass arbitration agreements, rejecting SpaceX’s bid to enforce signed dispute clauses.
The lawsuit stems from a 2022 internal letter urging SpaceX to distance itself from Elon Musk’s social-media comments, after which the company fired five workers and later four more.
Eight of the nine workers had also gone to the National Labor Relations Board, but that case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds; the civil suit now returns to district court unless SpaceX seeks further review.