Elon Musk’s brain-implant startup Neuralink Corp. pressured an worker to work with monkeys that carried the Herpes B virus in circumstances by which the animals scratched her naked pores and skin, in keeping with a grievance filed Friday in state court docket in California.
The worker, Lindsay Quick, stated that when she transferred to the corporate’s Fremont, California, web site in August 2022, she encountered “a work environment fraught with blame, shame, and impossible deadlines.” She stated she was later fired after telling her supervisors that she was pregnant.
Quick sued the corporate for retaliation, wrongful termination and discrimination primarily based on her gender amongst different points.
Neuralink didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the swimsuit.
The startup is within the early phases of scientific trials for its gadget, which is geared toward restoring operate for paralyzed sufferers. An Arizona man, Noland Arbaugh, lately underwent surgical procedure and have become the primary human affected person to have the gadget implanted. A quadriplegic, Arbaugh can now efficiently play video video games through the use of solely his ideas.
The corporate has additionally come underneath hearth for the mistreatment of monkeys and different animals prior to now, together with botched surgical procedures when it performed analysis on monkeys housed on the College of California at Davis. It has since moved monkey analysis to its personal services.
Quick stated she was working with monkeys that carried the Herpes B virus when she was scratched via a glove. She accused the corporate of failing to supply correct protecting gear to work with the monkeys. In one other incident, after she was pressured to carry out a process she wasn’t acquainted with, a monkey scratched her face. When she insisted on medical remedy, her boss threatened “severe repercussions” if it occurred once more, in keeping with the grievance.
Within the lawsuit, Quick additionally stated Neuralink didn’t honor a promise for versatile work hours to accommodate her household, then demoted her in Might 2023, two months after a promotion.
The next month, she informed Neuralink’s human sources division she was pregnant. Quick was fired the next day with the corporate saying the dismissal was for efficiency points, in keeping with the lawsuit.
