According to the AP, the US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, alleging employment bias against asylum seekers and refugees.
According to the complaint, which was submitted to an administrative court inside the department, SpaceX falsely asserted that hiring anyone other than US citizens and permanent residents was prohibited by federal export control laws. According to the lawsuit, this made it less likely for refugees and others who had been granted asylum to apply for positions at the company.
In addition to unspecified monetary penalties, the US is requesting “fair consideration and back pay” for those who were discouraged from applying for or refused employment at SpaceX as a result of the company’s alleged discrimination.
Export restrictions typically serve to safeguard US national security and advance domestic trade goals.
They prohibit the transfer of some technology, weapons, information, and software to certain non-US countries and restrict the exchange and disclosure of such materials to “US persons.” However, the Justice Department pointed out that the word also covers lawful permanent residents, asylum seekers, and refugees.
The agency claimed that SpaceX also declined to “fairly” review or hire any of the applicants from this group. The jobs in question included both those that required advanced degrees and others, including those inside the corporation for welders, cooks, and crane operators.
“SpaceX was told repeatedly that hiring anyone who was not a permanent resident of the United States would violate international arms trafficking law, which would be a criminal offense,”
Musk wrote in response to a comment about the situation on X, the social network that was previously known as Twitter before Musk bought it and changed its name. Despite the fact that Canada is a member of NORAD, we were unable to even hire Canadians! This is yet another instance of the DOJ being used as a political tool.
In another tweet, he called the lawsuit “insane.”
