Douglas Altshuler, a former employee of SpaceX, has filed a lawsuit against the aerospace company, alleging discrimination and harassment due to his Crohn’s disease. The 58-year-old claims that the company monitored his bathroom breaks and eventually dismissed him for “deficient performance.”
Altshuler’s lawsuit, filed in Washington state, alleges that his superiors at SpaceX kept a close watch on his restroom habits before his termination in January. The alleged surveillance included monitoring his calls and tracking his work tickets. The lawsuit was included in a notice of removal to federal jurisdiction filed by SpaceX’s legal team on May 5.
According to the lawsuit, in early 2024, Customer Support Supervisor Josiah Van Hoy began monitoring Altshuler’s bathroom breaks and criticized him for using the restroom. The lawsuit also alleges that Van Hoy discriminated against Altshuler due to his disability, warning him of an occurrence if he was away from his desk for more than 10 minutes. Van Hoy is not a named defendant in the case.
Altshuler alleges that he informed his supervisor and at least one other manager about his Crohn’s disease, which requires him to use the restroom every 35 to 45 minutes. He claims to have provided a doctor’s note requesting reasonable accommodation due to his disability and was initially assured that his bathroom access would not be restricted.
However, Altshuler alleges that after experiencing issues with his first supervisor, he was reassigned to a new manager who threatened to fire him if he used the restroom too frequently. He claims that both supervisors bullied and threatened him weekly over his restroom use before he was eventually dismissed for alleged “deficient performance.”
In addition to his allegations about bathroom breaks, Altshuler also believes his termination was related to safety concerns and other issues he raised in the workplace. He reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that he had seen industrial parts being dried in the kitchen oven where employees cook their food. He also sent an email complaining about disability discrimination and retaliation.
Altshuler’s legal team argues that he was discriminated against due to his disability and was fired on January 9. They are seeking damages for loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, and humiliation. Attempts to reach Altshuler’s lawyers and SpaceX’s legal team for comment were unsuccessful.