Elon Musk’s SpaceX sued over firing employee with Crohn’s Disease due to 'timed' bathroom breaks, termination threats
The case brings renewed scrutiny to working conditions at SpaceX. In 2023, a Reuters investigation revealed over 600 unreported workplace injuries at the company in under a decade—including amputations, crushed limbs, and one death.
ADVERTISEMENT
A former SpaceX employee has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the Elon Musk-led aerospace firm, claiming he was fired for needing frequent access to the toilet due to Crohn’s disease—a chronic gastrointestinal condition.
Douglas Altshuler, 58, alleges that supervisors at SpaceX's Redmond, Washington facility subjected him to demeaning treatment, including timing his bathroom visits and threatening him with termination if he exceeded a strict 10-minute limit. According to The Independent, Altshuler sometimes required up to 14 toilet breaks during his eight-hour shifts due to his condition.
Altshuler joined SpaceX in June 2023 as a customer support representative for Starlink, the company’s satellite internet division. While his initial months passed without incident, he claims workplace hostility began in early 2024 when management began monitoring his restroom usage and issuing formal reprimands. In response, he submitted a doctor’s note requesting reasonable workplace accommodations.
Although some supervisors initially assured him his bathroom use would not be restricted or tracked, Altshuler’s complaint paints a different picture—one of escalating retaliation and surveillance. He alleges he was monitored via electronic timekeeping systems, denied proper meal breaks, and subjected to invasive oversight, including recorded calls and withheld overtime pay.
The lawsuit also raises broader concerns about SpaceX's workplace culture. Altshuler claims rocket parts were being dried in ovens used by employees for meals, and that staff who took time off for workplace injuries were met with reprisal. He further alleges he was dismissed shortly after reporting chemical exposure to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Altshuler says he received a “threatening and argumentative” performance review shortly before being fired in January 2024. He is now seeking compensation and damages, the amount of which will be determined by a jury.
The case brings renewed scrutiny to working conditions at SpaceX. In 2023, a Reuters investigation revealed over 600 unreported workplace injuries at the company in under a decade—including amputations, crushed limbs, and one death.
Elon Musk, known for endorsing extreme work habits, has previously said that SpaceX’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team was working 120-hour weeks. In 2023, he also called remote work “morally wrong.”
