SpaceX lawsuit could be key test of US policy on bias against refugees
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[August 26, 2023]
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) - A new lawsuit accusing SpaceX of illegally refusing to hire
asylum recipients and refugees could be an important test of the U.S.
government's stance that national security concerns do not allow
companies to discriminate against non-citizens.
Elon Musk, CEO of the rocket and satellite company, said in response to
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit filed on Thursday that
hiring anyone besides U.S. citizens and green card holders would violate
weapons trafficking laws.
His post on the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, appears
to conflict with specific guidance issued by the DOJ in April, which
warned employers that invoking efforts to comply with export control
laws would not excuse them from a law banning discrimination based on
citizenship status.
A representative of SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for
comment on Friday.
Export control laws restrict companies from sharing sensitive
information and technology with certain individuals from other
countries.
The case against SpaceX appeared to be the first of its kind filed by
the department since releasing the guidance, which is not legally
binding but can be cited in court.
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In April and May, DOJ announced settlements of similar claims with
General Motors Co and an IT services firm, but the department had not
sued those companies.
Rebecca Bernhard, a Minneapolis-based labor lawyer who represents
companies, said employers subject to export control laws often ignore
the ban on citizenship-based bias in the federal Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA), exposing them to legal action.
"DOJ takes the anti-discrimination provisions of the INA very seriously,
aggressively enforces them, and interprets the [export control]
exceptions very narrowly," Bernhard said.
In its lawsuit, the Justice Department argued that from 2018 to 2022,
SpaceX in a series of job postings said it could only hire U.S. citizens
and green card holders.
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![](../images/082623PIX/news_j23.jpg)
SpaceX logo and Elon Musk silhouette are
seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado
Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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That discouraged aslyees and refugees from applying for jobs with
the company, and those who did were rejected, the department
alleged. Out of more than 10,000 hires, SpaceX only hired one asylee
during that period, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also cites public comments made by Musk and another
SpaceX executive, such as a 2020 tweet by Musk that "U.S. law
requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are
advanced weapons technology."
Musk on Thursday described the lawsuit as "weaponization of the DOJ
for political purposes." He said SpaceX had been told repeatedly
that hiring non-citizens could be a criminal offense.
But in the April guidance, the Justice Department said the opposite
- that export control laws do not implicate hiring or bar the
employment of any "U.S. persons," which the agency defined to
include asylees and refugees because they are permitted to live and
work in the United States.
Companies may need special permission from federal agencies to share
export-controlled information with workers who are not U.S. persons,
according to the guidance.
The DOJ did not directly cite its guidance in the SpaceX lawsuit,
but used nearly identical language to describe the company's alleged
violations.
"Export control laws and regulations do not prohibit or restrict
employers from hiring asylees and refugees; those laws treat asylees
and refugees just like U.S. citizens," the department said.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; editing by Amy
Stevens and Deepa Babington)
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