Lindsay Short, a former Neuralink employee, says she was scratched by a monkey infected with the potentially fatal Herpes B virus while working without proper protective gear. She claims Neuralink threatened retaliation if she sought medical treatment and did not report the injury as required. Short filed a lawsuit accusing Neuralink of wrongful termination, gender discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment with blame, shame, and impossible deadlines.
The lawsuit alleges Short was fired a day after revealing her pregnancy, despite a recent promotion. The lawsuit claims discriminatory and retaliatory practices by Neuralink, including labor code violations, failure to pay wages, denial of breaks, forced extra work, and Short's wrongful termination after informing HR of her pregnancy.
Neuralink is under investigation for potential animal welfare violations due to rushed testing causing suffering and deaths of animals, including monkeys, sheep, and pigs. About 1,500 animals have been killed in Neuralink's experiments since 2018. Neuralink is also under investigation for moving implants that may have been contaminated with pathogens, as the Herpes B virus can have severe and potentially fatal consequences if not treated immediately.
Elon Musk denied the reports of monkey mistreatment by Neuralink, without providing proof. Gender discrimination allegations are not new to Musk-run companies, with Short's lawsuit being the latest, and eight former SpaceX employees recently sued for wrongful termination due to raising sexual harassment concerns.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: New York Post, Yahoo News, Fortune ,The Register, newscentral.africa, boingboing.net, Quartz.