Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

Laser Focus World is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

Laser Focus World Membership

Never miss any articles, videos, podcasts, or webinars by signing up for membership access to Laser Focus World online. You can manage your preferences all in one place—and provide our editorial team with your valued feedback.

Magazine Subscription

Can you subscribe to receive our print issue for free? Yes, you sure can!

Newsletter Subscription

Laser Focus World newsletter subscription is free to qualified professionals:

The Daily Beam

Showcases the newest content from Laser Focus World, including photonics- and optics-based applications, components, research, and trends. (Daily)

Product Watch

The latest in products within the photonics industry. (9x per year)

Bio & Life Sciences Product Watch

The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

Laser Processing Product Watch

The latest in products within the laser processing industry. (3x per year)

Get Published!

If you’d like to write an article for us, reach out with a short pitch to Sally Cole Johnson: [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Photonics Hot List

Laser Focus World produces a video newscast that gives a peek into what’s happening in the world of photonics.

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast dives deep into the fascinating world of photonics. Our weekly episodes feature interviews and discussions with industry and research experts, providing valuable perspectives on the issues, technologies, and trends shaping the photonics community.

Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

Lieff Cabraser & Burgess Law Offices Announce Employees File Unfair Labor Practice Charges Against SpaceX for Retaliatory Firings

Former SpaceX employees have filed charges with the NLRB claiming that SpaceX unlawfully fired nine employees for working collectively to stop sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

Eight former SpaceX employees filed unfair labor practice charges against the company on November 16, 2022. The charges allege that SpaceX violated the National Labor Relations Act by terminating the employees for engaging in protected concerted activity.

Specifically, the employees were fired for being part of a larger group that drafted a letter to SpaceX’s executive team expressing concern about recent allegations of sexual harassment by CEO Elon Musk, and his harmful behavior on Twitter that hurt the company’s reputation and also the company culture. The letter called on SpaceX to take appropriate remedial action including condemning Musk’s harmful Twitter behavior, holding leadership accountable, and seeking uniform definition and enforcement of SpaceX’s “No Asshole” policy. The letter was shared internally within SpaceX only, and called for other employees to sign on to endorse the recommendations.

The charges allege that SpaceX fired five employees the day after the letter came out, and four more over the course of the following two months. Two employees – Tom Moline and Paige Holland-Thielen, filed charges on their own behalf. Attorneys Anne Shaver and Laurie Burgess filed charges on behalf of six other employees who are proceeding anonymously.

Paige Holland-Thielen notes: “As a woman engineer at SpaceX I experienced the deep cultural problems firsthand and spent countless hours comforting my peers and colleagues going through the same things and worse. It was clear that this culture was created from the top level. Part of what was supposed to be so great about SpaceX was that any person at any level could escalate issues to leadership and be taken seriously and treated with respect. We drafted the letter to communicate to the executive staff on their terms and show how their lack of action created tangible barriers to the long term success of the mission. We never imagined that SpaceX would fire us for trying to help the company succeed.”

Tom Moline comments: “As a senior engineer at SpaceX, I was entrusted with the design and operation of systems that were critical to SpaceX's overall mission of achieving interplanetary spaceflight. My teammates and I were given significant autonomy to achieve this goal, and were repeatedly told to do whatever it takes to accomplish it as soon as possible. Management used this ‘ends justifies the means’ philosophy to turn a blind eye to the ongoing mistreatment, harassment, and abuse reported by my colleagues, much of which was directly encouraged and inspired by the words and actions of the CEO. We drafted the open letter to bring these issues to the forefront and start the hard work of building a culture that was worthy of these lofty goals. I hope that this NLRA claim will demonstrate that no one is above the law, and empower SpaceXers to continue to speak up and fight for a better, more equitable workplace.”

Lieff Cabraser partner Anne Shaver notes: “SpaceX committed egregious violations of the law in its handling of the open letter. It had an extraordinary opportunity to engage with dedicated employees who cared enough about the company to speak up about harassment and discrimination. Instead, it viciously retaliated against them. SpaceX must be held accountable.”

Attorney Laurie Burgess comments: “It’s shocking that SpaceX appears to believe that its mission of getting humans to Mars justifies turning a blind eye to workers’ basic civil rights. I’m proud to represent the brave employees who stepped up to challenge SpaceX's conduct by collectively advocating for basic workplace protections.”

Information about Employees’ Counsel

The former SpaceX employees are represented by Anne Shaver and Lin Chan of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and Laurie Burgess of Burgess Law Offices, PC.

Eight former SpaceX employees filed unfair labor practice charges against the company on November 16, 2022 alleging that SpaceX violated the National Labor Relations Act by terminating the employees for engaging in protected concerted activity.

Contacts

Anne B. Shaver

Lin Y. Chan

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

275 Battery Street, 29th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94111-3339

Telephone: (415) 956-1000

Laurie Burgess

Burgess Law Offices P.C.

498 Utah St.

San Francisco, CA 94110

(312) 320-1718

More News

View More

Recent Quotes

View More
Symbol Price Change (%)
AMZN  213.04
-1.43 (-0.67%)
AAPL  252.29
+4.84 (1.96%)
AMD  233.08
-1.48 (-0.63%)
BAC  51.28
+0.84 (1.67%)
GOOG  253.79
+1.91 (0.76%)
META  716.91
+4.84 (0.68%)
MSFT  513.58
+1.97 (0.39%)
NVDA  183.16
+1.35 (0.74%)
ORCL  291.31
-21.69 (-6.93%)
TSLA  439.31
+10.56 (2.46%)
Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.