Elon Musk’s brain-implant startup Neuralink Corp. compelled an worker to work with monkeys that carried the Herpes B virus in circumstances during which the animals scratched her naked pores and skin, in accordance with a criticism 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 piece setting fraught with blame, disgrace, and not possible 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 go well with.
The startup is within the early phases of scientific trials for its system, which is aimed toward restoring operate for paralyzed sufferers. An Arizona man, Noland Arbaugh, just lately underwent surgical procedure and have become the first human patient to have the system implanted. A quadriplegic, Arbaugh can now efficiently play video video games through the use of solely his ideas.
The corporate has additionally come under fire for the mistreatment of monkeys and different animals up to now, together with botched surgical procedures when it carried out 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 by 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 compelled to carry out a process she wasn’t acquainted with, a monkey scratched her face. When she insisted on medical therapy, her boss threatened “extreme repercussions” if it occurred once more, in accordance with the criticism.
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 instructed 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 accordance with the lawsuit.