U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit On Thursday, it filed a lawsuit against SpaceX for refusing to consider hiring asylum seekers and refugees.according to Department of Justice statementFrom at least September 2018 to May 2022, Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company “regularly denied” applicants on the grounds of citizenship, violating the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The DOJ has “falsely claimed” in multiple job postings and public statements that SpaceX was compelled by federal “Export Administration Act” regulations to employ only U.S. citizens and green card holders. claimed to have done so. This alleged deliberate misunderstanding of the law has been publicly repeated repeatedly by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. For example, in June 2020, Posted by mask to X (formerly Twitter) said, “Because rockets are advanced weapons technology, U.S. law requires at least a green card for employment at SpaceX.”
However, as the Justice Department’s announcement states, the jobs at issue are not just high engineering and technical jobs, but include “a wide variety of jobs, including welders, cooks, crane operators, baristas, software engineers, marketing professionals, etc.” It was another job. According to the Justice Department, SpaceX made false claims that it was legally prohibited from hiring refugees. 14 in total Job postings, public relations and other online recruitment communications.
According to the INA, employers may not discriminate in hiring asylum seekers or refugees unless prohibited by specific executive order, government contract, law, or other federal regulation. “No in this case, [such situation] requested or permitted SpaceX to engage in widespread discrimination,” the Justice Department representative claims.
[Related: SpaceX’s Starship launch caused a ‘mini earthquake’ and left a giant mess.]
But Mr. Musk has already bolstered what he and his fellow employees have said so far. Posted on August 24th SpaceX claimed that it was “repeatedly told” that hiring non-permanent residents of the United States violated the International Arms Trafficking Act. Musk, who acquired the social media platform formerly known as Twitter in October 2022, added that “this is yet another example of the Justice Department being weaponized for political purposes.” Attorneys like Dorsey & Whitney partner Rebecca Bernhardt, who specializes in employment-related issues, question Musk’s legitimacy on work visa and immigration issues.
“Although it is legal for an employer to refuse to offer an employer sponsorship to a potential employee (e.g., not to personally sponsor an H-1B), it is legal to require that the employee be a U.S. citizen. is illegal,” she explains in an email. Bernhard said, “There are other groups of immigrants who have work permits in the United States and do not need the assistance of their employers…requiring someone to be a U.S. citizen discriminates against these people.” will be,” he claims.
However, one potential exception is employers subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). “The Justice Department appears to be alleging that SpaceX abused this exception,” Bernhardt said.
“While I cannot comment on whether SpaceX is subject to the ITAR or the EAR, the Department of Justice takes the INA’s non-discrimination provisions very seriously, is actively enforcing them, and is seeking exemptions to the ITAR and the EAR. I would say that you are interpreting it very narrowly,” Bernhard added. .
The Justice Department filing seeks fair compensation and backpay for those suspected of discriminatory behavior.