The US Department of Justice has taken legal action against SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket company, over alleged hiring discrimination targeting refugees and asylum seekers.
According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit, filed in an administrative court in the department, claimed that SpaceX falsely cited federal export control laws as grounds to only hire "US people," thus deterring refugees and asylum seekers from applying.
This move allegedly violated the Immigration and Nationality Act. The department noted that SpaceX refused to hire or "fairly" consider applications from this group of people applying for positions that require advanced degrees or others such as cooks and welders.
The US reportedly seeks fair consideration and back pay for people who were denied employment at the company due to the alleged discrimination, on top of undetermined civil penalties. SpaceX has yet to respond to this lawsuit.
US Justice Department's Lawsuit Against SpaceX
The Justice Department's lawsuit noted that from September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking employment and refused to hire them.
The lawsuit alleged that SpaceX misled potential applicants by wrongly claiming that federal export control laws limited its hiring to US citizens and permanent US residents due to export control laws.
However, the Justice Department noted that these laws also encompass asylees and refugees, giving them equal rights for employment. The lawsuit then accused SpaceX of not "fairly" considering applications from this group and ultimately failing to hire them.
This alleged discrimination occurred across different stages of the hiring process, including discouraging asylees and refugees from applying and rejecting qualified candidates due to their citizenship status.
Even jobs that did not require advanced degrees, such as crane operators, were reportedly affected by this alleged discrimination, including professionals in various fields like software engineering and marketing.
The lawsuit noted that refugees and asylees who have undergone thorough vetting by the US government after fleeing persecution should not face discrimination in hiring based on their status.
The Immigration and Nationality Act bars such discrimination unless mandated by law, regulation, executive order, or government contract, which is not the case here, according to the department.
US Seeks Remedies
The US sought several remedies in response to the allegations, including fair consideration and back pay for those discouraged from or denied employment. The US also seeks policy changes to prevent future discrimination.
The lawsuit noted that SpaceX, like other companies dealing with export-controlled items, must comply with regulations but isn't required to treat refugees and asylees differently from US citizens and green card holders in this context.
"Our investigation also found that SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials took actions that actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
"Asylees and refugees have overcome many obstacles in their lives, and unlawful employment discrimination based on their citizenship status should not be one of them. Through this lawsuit we will hold SpaceX accountable for its illegal employment practices and seek relief that allows asylees and refugees to fairly compete for job opportunities and contribute their talents to SpaceX's workforce," Clarke added.
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