SpaceX sues US agency that accused it of firing workers critical of CEO Elon Musk

Rocket and satellite maker SpaceX on Thursday sued a US labor board to block its case accusing the company of illegally firing employees who sent a letter to company executives calling its CEO, Elon Musk, “a distraction and embarrassment”.

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 NLRB alleges that SpaceX violated federal labor law by firing eight workers in 2022 for signing on to the letter, which accused Musk of making sexist comments that went against company policies. That case will be heard by an administrative judge and then a five-member board appointed by the US president. The board’s decisions can be appealed in federal court.

SpaceX in its lawsuit claims that, because federal law only allows board members and administrative judges to be removed for cause, and not at will, the NLRB’s structure is unconstitutional. The lawsuit seeks to block the NLRB case from moving forward.

An NLRB spokesperson declined to comment.

SpaceX recently utilized a similar tactic to block an administrative case by the US Department of Justice claiming the company illegally refused to hire refugees and asylum recipients.

A federal judge in Brownsville paused the administrative case in November, pending the outcome of a lawsuit by SpaceX. The judge said the US constitution required that administrative judges at the justice department be appointed by the president, and not the attorney general, as they currently are.

The NLRB is already facing a similar lawsuit from a Starbucks employee who opposed the unionization of the New York store where she works. The worker sued the board in October after it denied her petition for an election to dissolve the union. The agency has not responded to that lawsuit.

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