Breaking: Justice Department Sues SpaceX Over Alleged Discrimination

According to a recent report, the Justice Department has taken legal action against Elon Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX). The lawsuit claims that from 2018 to 2022, SpaceX discouraged and denied opportunities to asylees and refugees, citing misleading reasons tied to citizenship status.

The Heart of the Matter

SpaceX argued that “export control laws” limited their hiring to only U.S. citizens and green card holders. However, these laws impose no such constraints since asylees and refugees can access export-controlled materials just like any U.S. citizen. Moreover, asylees and refugees undergo stringent U.S. government vetting, making them as eligible as any other applicant.

BREAKING: The US Department of Justice is suing Elon Musk's SpaceX over alleged discrimination "against refugees and asylum seekers."

The lawsuit says between 2018 and 2022, SpaceX “wrongly claimed” that export control laws limited its hiring to U.S. citizens and lawful… pic.twitter.com/vuuiPrnTwq

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 24, 2023

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke remarked, “SpaceX failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status.” Hence, the department seeks civil penalties and policy changes from SpaceX, ensuring compliance with federal non-discrimination laws.

The Resistance from SpaceX

While the lawsuit itself presents significant concerns, another dimension of the issue is SpaceX’s alleged reluctance to cooperate with the DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER).

In May 2020, the IER embarked on an investigation to determine if SpaceX’s hiring practices were discriminatory based on citizenship or immigration status. However, SpaceX reportedly withheld key documents, providing them only after a subpoena was issued over a year later.

Notably, in November 2022, after thoroughly scrutinizing these documents, the IER concluded there was reasonable cause to believe SpaceX might be engaging in unfair immigration-related employment practices.

US law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are considered advanced weapons technology

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 16, 2020

This contention is made with seriousness since, besides the complaints from potential hires, some evidence, shockingly, comes directly from the company’s figurehead, Elon Musk. Videos of Musk discussing hiring restrictions, coupled with posts on X – previously known as Twitter – where he outlines citizenship requirements for SpaceX, serve to strengthen the case against the company.

Implications for the Aerospace Industry

As a result of this legal conflict, other companies in the sector may reconsider their employment policies to guarantee compliance with anti-discrimination laws at the federal level.

DOJ records show that after almost four years and more than 10,000 hires, just one applicant who identified himself as a refugee was employed. This hire occurred conspicuously four months after the DOJ’s initial notice of the investigation.

The trajectory of this case is significant not just for SpaceX but for the aerospace sector and corporate America at large. The outcome could reshape how companies approach hiring, especially concerning refugees and asylees. The call to action is clear for companies to recommit to fair hiring practices, ensuring that every qualified individual, regardless of origin or citizenship status, gets a fair shot.