SpaceX faces two new lawsuits alleging safety‐related retaliation

Two former SpaceX employees, Robert Markert and David Lavalle, have filed separate wrongful-termination lawsuits alleging retaliation linked to safety concerns and workplace injuries. Markert, a 13-year veteran, claims he warned SpaceX about dangerous practices in the rocket fairing recovery process that prioritized cost savings over safety, but was ignored and later fired. He also alleges that technicians endured punishing work schedules with insufficient training, leading to unreported injuries. Lavalle, a plumber at SpaceX since 2014, alleges he was terminated shortly after requesting medical leave for gout-related knee pain and claims the company failed to accommodate multiple work-related injuries. He further alleges age discrimination tied to a wave of firings under a younger senior manager. These lawsuits come amid SpaceX’s rapid development of its Starship rocket and ongoing Falcon 9 launches, highlighting concerns about workplace safety at the company. Data from OSHA shows SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas had an injury rate nearly triple the aerospace manufacturing average in