A SpaceX employee who alleges that she became pregnant after being coerced into a sexual relationship with a supervisor wants a judge to quash the company’s subpoenas for her medical records, saying the information is far more than needed to defend against her lawsuit.
Plaintiff Michelle Dopak also alleges in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that Hawthorne-based SpaceX paid her less than male colleagues and retaliated against her for reporting sexual harassment by a manager. She maintains management is “blatantly setting (her) up to fail” in order to force her to quit.
In court papers filed Wednesday with Judge Tony Richardson in advance of a March 16 hearing, Dopak’s attorneys also contend that the company has gone too far with its subpoenas for the plaintiff’s medical records that defense attorneys contend are needed to defend against the 39-year-old plaintiff’s suit.
“These subpoenas indiscriminately sweep in documents involving unrelated physical conditions, insurance questions, scheduling notes, administrative communications and even materials that reference plaintiff’s daughter or other family matters,” Dopak’s attorneys state. “There is simply no justification for such an extraordinarily intrusive method when routine, targeted and respectful alternatives were readily available.”
Her lawyers’ court papers further state that “Nothing in the pleadings remotely suggests that plaintiff placed her entire medical history in controversy.”
In their previous court papers, SpaceX attorneys have denied Dopak’s allegations and her claims for damages. But in her suit filed in March 2024, Dopak alleges she was paid $5,000 less than a male colleague with the same job and that she was repeatedly subjected to retaliation after she complained of discrimination.
Dopak, who moved to Florida in 2023, also contends that a male supervisor convinced her to have sex with him and eventually promoted her to a scheduler position in exchange for continued sexual relations. Dopak believed her career advancement would be impaired if she did not comply with the boss’ alleged sexual demands, the suit states.
The supervisor later offered to pay Dopak $100,000 to have an abortion after she became pregnant with his child, but she refused, the suit states.
Despite upper management’s knowledge of the pregnancy, no disciplinary actions were taken against the married supervisor, the suit states.
“It was immediately apparent that SpaceX had (the supervisor’s) proverbial back and that (Dopak) needed to remain silent or risk losing her job,” the suit alleges.
In its two core businesses, SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches rockets and spacecraft and uses them to provide launch services to customers located in various states and countries. The firm also provides high-speed, low-latency satellite internet to customers around the world using its constellation of thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit and ground infrastructure.