The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking legal action against SpaceX, a company founded by Elon Musk, on grounds of alleged discriminatory hiring practices towards refugees and asylum seekers.
According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), SpaceX has been accused of making false assertions regarding its hiring policies, specifically claiming that it is prohibited from employing individuals who are not citizens of the United States.
The Department of Justice initiated an investigation into SpaceX following allegations of discriminatory practices made by a foreign worker.
In a lawsuit filed by the DoJ, SpaceX was accused of “routinely discouraging asylees and refugees from applying and refusing to hire or consider them due to their citizenship status” between September 2018 and May 2022.
A person who has been given asylum is called an asylee. They are allowed to seek employment in the United States, can apply for a social security card, can apply for permission to travel abroad, and can apply to bring relatives to the country.
The DOJ stated that the company of Elon Musk was only permitted to hire citizens and green card holders due to “export control laws.” The Department of Justice, however, responded that these laws do not impose such limitations and that this is false.
The jobs allegedly denied to refugees and asylum seekers ranged from rocket engineering to dishwashing and cooking.
The Department of Justice has requested that SpaceX consider paying back employees who were unfairly terminated for discriminatory reasons. One of Mr. Musk’s companies has been sued before for alleged discriminatory practices, so this case is not special.
A group of former employees of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a lawsuit earlier this month alleging that Mr. Musk had discriminated against them on the basis of their gender, age, and race.
