The Justice Department is suing Elon Musk’s SpaceX, accusing it of discriminating against refugees and asylum seekers.
The lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges that Rocket Company discouraged anyone from applying for jobs who is not a US citizen or lawful permanent resident and refused to hire refugees and asylum seekers from September 2018 to May 2022. refused.
“Because of their citizenship status, refugees and asylum seekers had no chance of being properly considered or hired for jobs at SpaceX,” Musk said.
According to the Justice Department, SpaceX falsely claimed that export control laws limit appointments. The Justice Department said that migrants and refugees seeking asylum have fled persecution and are conducting a thorough investigation to obtain their status. It states that under federal immigration law, employers cannot discriminate against them in employment, unless exempted by a statute, regulation, executive order or government contract.
The lawsuit also cited a 2020 tweet from Musk, which claimed that US law requires “at least a green card” to be hired at SpaceX which is engaged in “advanced weapons and technology”. Makes
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
The Justice Department opened an investigation into SpaceX in June 2020 after receiving a complaint of employment discrimination.
“Our investigation found that SpaceX failed to appropriately consider or hire refugees and asylum seekers because of their citizenship status and prohibited their hiring regardless of their qualifications, in violation of federal law ,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
Clark said the department’s investigation found that SpaceX recruiters and other company officials “actively discouraged refugees and asylum seekers from seeking work opportunities with the company.”
The Justice Department is seeking back wages for asylum seekers and refugees who “were fired or denied employment at SpaceX because of alleged discrimination.” It is also seeking civil penalties and policy changes from SpaceX.
