A former employee is suing Elon Musk's Neuralink, claiming that she was scratched by a monkey infected with Herpes B virus, and that she was fired after she told her superiors that she was pregnant.
Lindsay Short, who began working with Musk's brainchip company in August 2022, accused the firm of failing to provide proper protective equipment to workers which left her exposed to the infected monkey that scratched her.
The lawsuit, filed in California state court, accuses Neuralink of creating a hostile workplace, claims that superiors had unrealistic deadlines and that employees were often shamed for not meeting their assigned targets.
Short details two incidents in which infected monkeys scratched her while she was working,according to the lawsuit.
In a September 2022 incident, a monkey scratched her through her glove and broke her skin, which the suit claims left her "exposed to Herpes B."
The second incident involved Short being scratched across the face by a monkey, again carrying the Herpes B virus.
People typically get infected with B virus if they are bitten or scratched by an infected macaque monkey; or have contact with the monkey’s eyes, nose, or mouth, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
B virus infection is extremely rare but can lead to severe brain damage or death if you do not get treatment immediately.
The former employee also claims in the lawsuit that her superiors threatened "severe repercussions" if she was injured again on the job.
In June 2023, Short went to Neuralink's human resources department to inform them that she was pregnant and that she wanted to "determine whether reasonable accommodations could be made for her.”
She says in the lawsuit that she went directly to the HR department, rather than to her superiors, because her bosses "would often mention how they did not like children” and felt that having children only "got in the way" of their career goals.
Short was reportedly fired the day after she went to human resources.
“The razor thin, one day difference between” Short’s disclosure that she was pregnant “and her wrongful termination strongly suggests retaliation,” the lawsuit says.
Short is suing Neuralink for wrongful termination, retaliation, and gender discrimination, among other allegations.
The Independent has contacted Neuralink for comment.
Neuralink is working on a brain implant that creators hope will help paralyzed individuals walk again and help cure or treat other neurological problems.
However, more than a dozen former and current Neuralink workers have accused Musk of pressuring them to speed up the development process, which has resulted in botched experiments and slowed their progress. Those alleged failed tests not only stalled research, but led to the unnecessary deaths and injuries of lab animals, according to Reuters.Workers told the news agency that animal deaths at Neuralink are higher than at a typical lab, specifically because Musk is demanding that researchers work faster.
