The US Department of Justice has sued SpaceX for discrimination, reports A Space.com.
The lawsuit alleges that from September 2018 to May 2022 (and possibly later), SpaceX discouraged refugees and asylum seekers from applying for jobs in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and discriminated against those who applied.
Our investigation found that SpaceX failed to consider or fairly hire asylum seekers and refugees based on their citizenship status and, in violation of federal law, instituted policies that prevented them from hiring regardless of their qualifications
Deputy Attorney General Christine Clark, who works in the Department of Justice’s civil rights division, said in a statement released Thursday, the day the lawsuit was filed.
According to US Department of Justice officials, SpaceX has claimed this in job advertisements and public statements over the course of several years
The company can only hire US citizens or green card holders due to export control laws.
But such laws, which are intended to prevent other countries from obtaining technology critical to US national security, do not impose such restrictions, according to the US Department of Justice.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk says the management’s claims are untrue.
the International Arms Trade Rules The principle that American companies with advanced weapons technology, such as ICBMs, should employ people who are permanent residents of the United States to keep technology out of the hands of countries that want to harm us.
Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter). And in an X post on Thursday, he made the same claim the US Department of Justice SpaceX is being targeted for reasons beyond a strict interpretation of the law.
SpaceX has been told repeatedly that hiring anyone who is not a permanent resident of the United States would violate the International Arms Trade Act, which could constitute a crime. We couldn’t even hire Canadian citizens, even though Canada is part of North American Aerospace Defense Command!
Musk said.
