Less than a month after unfair labor complaints were filed against the company, another worker dispute has arisen.
A former engineer at the rocket company filed an age discrimination complaint with the state of Washington, saying he was passed up for opportunities in favor of younger, less experienced colleagues and that he was retaliated against when he filed complaints with the company.
According to an affidavit the Guardian reviewed, John Johnson said he was stripped of responsibilities after he had back surgery. The affidavit states that the responsibilities were assigned to younger, less qualified engineers.
In his affidavit, Johnson said that managers marginalized him, minimized his contributions, and limited his visibility to upper management.
The Washington state human rights commission confirmed that the affidavit was filed with the agency, but that it has not been assigned for investigation due to the large number of unresolved cases. A professor at the University of California College of Law in San Francisco said that discrimination complaints must first be filed with a state agency. Johnson wants the agency to investigate his allegations after which it can charge the company if it is found to be in violation of any laws. If Johnson's allegations are found to be part of a larger pattern of discrimination, the agency could do a broader investigation.
By the time the story was published, the company had not responded to a request for comment.
Lioness, a website that provides resources to whistle blowers and publishes first-person stories, published Johnson's essay on Wednesday.
I have not been surprised by the recent news about the takeover atTwitter. I felt compelled to tell my story as we move into this new era of wealthy industrialists taking the helm of the largest tech firms.
He stated in the essay that he filed complaints with both HR and Shotwell. Johnson wrote to Shotwell that he felt his ability to succeed and advance within the company was restricted because of his age. Shotwell apologized and said she was sorry. Shotwell promised to fix it.
Johnson said he was told in February that his work was no longer needed. According to the affidavit, Johnson was given the choice of leaving the company or taking responsibilities outside of his area of expertise.
Johnson left the company after his abilities were repeatedly questioned by his director and engineer. He wrote in the affidavit that he felt he had no choice but to leave because of age discrimination, harassment, and a climate of hostility.
A group of former SpaceX employees filed unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board last month, accusing them of being fired for critical of Musk. There are a lot of labor disputes over the treatment of workers at companies run by Musk. At least three lawsuits have been filed on behalf of full-time workers and contractors as well as employees with disabilities in the wake of mass layoffs and Musk's ultimatum requiring workers to go into the office and put in long hours at a high intensity or to quit. Musk has an account on the micro-messaging service.
15 black former or current employees of the company are being sued for being subject to racial abuse. In June, a shareholder sued the company, accusing it of neglecting to address complaints of a hostile work environment.
Johnson said he was inspired to lodge internal complaints by a former employee who spoke about her experience at the company.
Dubal said that because Johnson resigned and was not fired, he may not be able to prove that the company took action against him. She argued that it is still important. Dubal said that it was important from a social change perspective that the firm changed its practices.
She said that it is rare for a highly skilled worker in a tech market to come forward and say that they have experienced discrimination. They won't be hired again, that's part of the reason We are getting insight into the experience of at least one person at a Musk- owned firm.
In the months before his resignation, Johnson wrote that while his performance reviews were consistently solid, at one point being praised for "pretty much single-handedly" setting up an entire optical supply chain, two of his roles were permanently relocated to less experienced engineers. The young men in their twenties and thirties were going to schedule meetings for a download on everything I was doing in those areas. He said he did not miss a day of work.
He claimed that by mid 2020 more than half of his job duties had been permanently relocated. When Johnson inquired about why another engineer was assigned to shadow him, he was told it was because he might die.
Johnson said that his age couldn't be a legal reason for a job assignment. The Starlink manager was promoted a few months later despite the fact that the manager reported himself to HR.
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