|
SpaceX in the lawsuit filed in Brownsville, Texas federal court
claims the structure of the National Labor Relations Board(NLRB),
which issued a complaint against the company on Wednesday,
violates the U.S. Constitution.
The NLRB alleges SpaceX violated federal labor law by firing
eight workers in 2022 for signing onto 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 U.S. president. The
board's decisions can be appealed in federal court.
But 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 spokeswoman declined to comment.
SpaceX recently utilized a similar tactic to block an
administrative case by the U.S. Department of Justice claiming
the company illegally refused to hire refugees and asylum
recipients.
A federal judge in Brownsville, where Thursday's case was filed,
in November paused the administrative case pending the outcome
of a lawsuit by SpaceX. The judge said that the U.S.
Constitution required administrative judges at the Justice
Department to 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
Corp 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.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by
Alexia Garamfalvi and Sonali Paul)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
