On Thursday, rocket and satellite manufacturer SpaceX filed a lawsuit against a U.S. labor board in an attempt to prevent a case in which the company is accused of unlawfully terminating employees. The employees in question were allegedly fired for sending a letter to company executives expressing their views on SpaceX’s CEO, Elon Musk, whom they referred to as “a distraction and embarrassment.” The lawsuit is SpaceX’s legal response to contest the accusations made by the labor board.
In a lawsuit filed in Brownsville, Texas, federal court, SpaceX claims the structure of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) – which issued a complaint against the company on Wednesday – violates the US constitution.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has leveled allegations against SpaceX, claiming that the company violated federal labor law by terminating eight workers in 2022 who had endorsed a letter critical of SpaceX’s CEO, Elon Musk. The letter accused Musk of making sexist comments that were deemed in violation of company policies. rocket and satellite manufacturer
The case is set to undergo a legal process, beginning with a hearing before an administrative judge and subsequently being reviewed by a five-member board appointed by the U.S. president. Decisions made by the board can be subject to appeal in federal court.
SpaceX, in its lawsuit, argues that the structure of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unconstitutional, contending that federal law permits the removal of board members and administrative judges only for cause, not at will. The lawsuit seeks to halt the NLRB case from proceeding.
An NLRB spokesperson declined to provide comments on the matter.
This legal strategy mirrors a recent tactic employed by SpaceX to halt an administrative case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, which alleged that the company unlawfully rejected job applications from refugees and asylum recipients. In November, a federal judge in Brownsville temporarily suspended the administrative case, pending the resolution of SpaceX’s lawsuit. The judge asserted that the U.S. Constitution requires administrative judges at the Justice Department to be appointed by the president, not the attorney general as it is currently structured.
It’s worth noting that the NLRB is concurrently facing a similar lawsuit from a Starbucks employee who opposed the unionization of the New York store where she works. The employee filed the lawsuit in October after the NLRB denied her petition for an election to dissolve the union, and as of now, the agency has not responded to that legal challenge.