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Plumber's Medical Needs Met with Termination

The second lawsuit comes from David Lavalle, a 60-year-old plumber who joined SpaceX in 2014. Lavalle's complaint tells a different but equally concerning story about alleged discrimination and retaliation, this time involving workplace injuries and medical accommodations.

According to the lawsuit, Lavalle sustained multiple work-related injuries during his decade-long tenure, including a fractured foot, severe neck pain, back and shoulder injuries, and wrist pain. While he filed workers' compensation claims for some injuries, he allegedly refrained from filing for others due to fear of retaliation from the company.

The situation came to a head when Lavalle requested medical leave for gout-induced knee pain. Just nine days after making this request, he was terminated, according to the complaint. Lavalle alleges this termination was part of a broader pattern of age discrimination, claiming he was caught up in a wave of firings targeting older staff members.

Legal Proceedings Move to Federal Court

Both complaints were initially filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court but have since been removed by SpaceX to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. This move to federal court is typical in employment disputes involving large corporations and may indicate SpaceX's strategy for handling these cases.

🛑 It should be noted that the assertions in Markert's and Lavalle's lawsuits are merely allegations and have not been proven in a court of law.