マスク氏とスペースＸを元従業員が提訴 セクハラや不当解雇で

【サンフランシスコＡＦＰ＝時事】実業家イーロン・マスク氏率いる宇宙開発企業スペースＸに解雇された８人の元従業員が１２日、セクシュアルハラスメント（性的嫌がらせ）や差別、報復人事、不当解雇といった仕打ちを受けたとし、同氏とスペースＸをカリフォルニア州ロサンゼルスの裁判所に民事提訴した。８人は、「暗黒時代」のような性差別的な企業文化をマスク氏が助長していると糾弾している。（写真は、宇宙開発企業スペースＸを率いるイーロン・マスク氏）
　８人は２０２２年、マスク氏を批判する書簡を公開した後、解雇された。その後、全米労働関係委員会（ＮＬＲＢ）に苦情を申し立てたが、マスク氏は訴訟を起こすなどして妨害を試みていた。
　８人は訴状の中で、「イーロン・マスクはスペースＸについて、宇宙旅行時代の素晴らしい新世界のリーダーと吹聴する」一方で、「暗黒時代のような会社運営を行っている」と批判。具体的には、女性をブラジャーのサイズで評価するなど性的な対象として扱ったり、職場でひわいな発言を連発したり、異論を挟んだ従業員に解雇をちらつかせたりすると主張している。
　この件について、スペースＸのコメントは得られていない。
　マスク氏関連の企業では、電気自動車（ＥＶ）大手テスラのカリフォルニア州の拠点がやはり人種差別やセクハラをめぐり提訴されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/06/13-17:00）

Workers fired by SpaceX filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Elon Musk of fostering a sexist Dark Ages culture at the company he founded.
The civil complaint filed in a California court in Los Angeles contends Musk had the workers terminated after they published an open letter detailing their concerns and calling on the American aerospace firm's board to distance itself from the SpaceX chief executive.
Elon Musk trumpets SpaceX as the leader to a brave new world of space travel, the court filing says.
But (he) runs his company in the Dark Ages -- treating women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter, and offering the reprise to those who challenge the 'Animal House' environment that if they don't like it they can seek employment elsewhere.
The suit charges Musk and SpaceX with sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
Musk thinks he's above the law, plaintiffs' attorney Laurie Burgess said in a statement. We look forward to holding Musk accountable for his actions at trial.
The fired workers have already filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board, but that has been stalled by a lawsuit by Musk trying to derail it.
Filing this suit marks an important milestone in our quest for justice, for holding leadership accountable, and for implementing responsible changes in workplace policies for our colleagues at SpaceX who continue to toil in a hostile work environment, plaintiff Paige Holland-Thielen said in the statement.
We hope that this lawsuit encourages our colleagues to stay strong and to keep fighting for a better workplace.
SpaceX in 2022 fired each of the eight former workers represented by the suit, the filing said.
According to the lawsuit and complaints to regulators, SpaceX nurtured a hostile work environment where jokes about sexual harassment were commonplace, women were paid less than men and workers who complained were dismissed.
Musk knowingly and purposefully created an unwelcome hostile work environment based upon his conduct of interjecting into the workplace vile sexual photographs, memes, and commentary that demeaned women and/or the LGBTQ+ community, plaintiffs' attorneys said in the statement.
In their complaints, the engineers describe a sexist corporate culture, where sexual comments and other forms of harassment were tolerated or made light of.
They also contended that Musk's often inappropriate online humor was being emulated internally, setting the tone at the workplace.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla, Musk's other flagship company, has been the subject of similar accusations of racism and sexual harassment at its California site.