US Justice Department sues Elon Musk's SpaceX over hiring practices

The US Justice Department on Thursday (August 24) sued Elon Musk's SpaceX over hiring practices. In a statement, the Justice Department said that it filed a lawsuit against SpaceX for discriminating against asylees and refugees in hiring. "The lawsuit alleges that, from at least September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)," the statement said.

The statement added that over several years, SpaceX wrongly claimed that under federal regulations known as “export control laws,” it could hire only American citizens and lawful permanent residents, sometimes referred to as “green card holders.”

"Export control laws impose no such hiring restrictions," the department further said.

The investigation

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said on Thursday the department's investigation found that SpaceX failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status and imposed what amounted to a ban on their hire regardless of their qualification, in violation of federal law.

"Our investigation also found that SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials took actions that actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company," Clarke added.

The discrimination during stages of hiring process

The lawsuit alleges that SpaceX discriminated against asylees and refugees based on citizenship status at multiple stages of the hiring process. SpaceX discouraged asylees and refugees from applying for open positions, it failed to consider applications submitted by asylees and refugees, and it also hired only American citizens and lawful permanent residents, from September 2018 to September 2020.

"The United States seeks fair consideration and back pay for asylees and refugees who were deterred or denied employment at SpaceX due to the alleged discrimination. The United States also seeks civil penalties in an amount to be determined by the court and policy changes to ensure it complies with the INA’s nondiscrimination mandate going forward," the statement further said.

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