A former SpaceX employee is suing Elon Musk’s space technology company, alleging she was terminated in 2023 for taking time off to heal from an ankle injury suffered in the workplace and for filing a workers’ compensation claim.
Lauren Spotville, 31, also alleges in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that one of her managers told her to park in a handicapped parking spot while knowing the injury prevented the plaintiff from driving. Spotville alleges wrongful discharge, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of the state Labor and Government codes as well as the California Family Right Act.
Spotville seeks at least $3 million in damages and $500,000 in attorneys’ fees.
A representative for Hawthorne-based SpaceX did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Thursday.
Spotville was hired in July 2022 as a customer support associate for SpaceX’s Starlink telecommunications system and her duties included communicating with customers over the phone to triage, troubleshoot and resolve issues that arose with their Starlink devices. She twisted her right ankle while being given a tour of the roof of a SpaceX facility in August 2022 and decided against going to a hospital, the suit states.
A month later, Spotville’s ankle remained swollen and she told management that driving and walking was becoming more difficult, the suit states. No one contacted Spotville about her condition but the safety department directed her to an onsite doctor for evaluation, according to the suit, which also states that the plaintiff filed a workers’ compensation claim.
Spotville’s own doctor determined that she should work from home and avoid putting weight on her right ankle, but when SpaceX management refused to allow her to work remotely, she went on a California Family Rights Act medical leave, the suit states.
Spotville, still not fully healed, went back to work in January 2023 and was subjected without knowing beforehand to a new point system in which management went back in time and started punishing her for being late or absent from work, using her ignorance of the system as a way to threaten her job security, the suit states.
Spotville, who complained of retaliation for opening the workers’ compensation case and going on medical leave, was reprimanded nearly weekly for receiving negative points under the new absenteeism/tardiness system, the suit states. When Spotville asked the manager if her husband could drop her off at work within a secured area so that the plaintiff would not have to walk so far and risk being late, her request was denied and the manager suggested she park in the space reserved for the handicapped, the suit states.
“This suggestion was nonsensical as plaintiff was unable to drive herself due to her physical disability,” the suit states.
Management allegedly continued to use the point system against Spotville instead of offering her accommodations and she was terminated in 2023.