United States President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk's SpaceX for allegedly discriminating against asylum seekers and refugees by refusing to hire them.
In a statement, the Justice Department said that the lawsuit claims that SpaceX, from at least September 2018 to May 2022, routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying for a job at the company. It also accuses the space company of refusing to hire or consider them because of their citizenship status, which is a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
SpaceX Faces Lawsuit Alleging Hiring Discrimination
The DOJ added that SpaceX wrongly claimed in job postings and public statements issued over several years that under federal regulations known as "export control laws," the company was only allowed to hire United States citizens and lawful permanent residents. The latter are people who are sometimes referred to as "green card holders."
The specified laws prevent foreign persons from gaining access to export-controlled items without first receiving approval from the State Department or Department of Commerce. However, it permits U.S. persons, such as citizens, residents, refugees, and asylum seekers, the lawsuit noted, as per the New York Post.
The suit also claims that immigrants virtually had zero chance of being fairly considered or hired for a career at SpaceX. It adds that the space company's hiring practices were "routine, widespread, and longstanding, and harmed asylees and refugees."
Additionally, the Justice Department referenced various online posts from SpaceX's billionaire owner Musk as examples of "discriminatory public statements." The lawsuit against the company cited a June 202 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The post was from Musk and was sent to his then 36 million followers that said, "U.S. law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are advanced weapons technology."
Discouraging Asylum Seekers and Refugees From Applying
In a statement, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's civil rights division said that the investigation found that the space company imposed what is considered to be a ban on asylees and refugees' possibility of being hired regardless of their qualifications, according to Reuters.
Now, the United States is seeking fair consideration and back pay for asylum seekers and refugees who were previously deterred or denied employment at the space company due to alleged discrimination.
The Justice Department's lawsuit is also seeking civil penalties in an amount that would be later determined by court and policy changes to Musk's company that comply with the federal non-discrimination mandate moving forward.
The jobs that SpaceX routinely did not hire asylees and refugees were not only positions that required higher education. On top of positions in software and rocket engineering, they also included jobs in welding, cooking, and dishwashing.
The Justice Department's lawsuit is not the first time that one of Musk's companies has faced accusations of discriminatory behavior. Earlier this month, several former employees of Twitter, which is now known as X, filed a lawsuit alleging that the tech billionaire engaged in gender, age, and racial discrimination, said The Guardian.
