The U.S. Department of Justice has recently filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, the aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by renowned entrepreneur Elon Musk. The lawsuit alleges that SpaceX engaged in hiring discrimination against refugees and individuals seeking or already granted asylum.
According to the complaint, SpaceX incorrectly claimed that federal export control laws prevented the company from hiring anyone other than U.S. citizens and permanent residents. This claim discouraged refugees, asylum seekers, and grantees from applying for positions at the company.
Export controls serve to protect U.S. national security and promote national trade objectives. They restrict the shipment of specific technologies, weapons, information, and software to certain non-U.S. nations. Additionally, they limit the sharing or release of such items and information to “U.S. persons.” It is important to note that “U.S. persons” include not only U.S. citizens but also permanent residents, refugees, and individuals seeking or granted asylum.
The Department of Justice accuses SpaceX of failing to give fair consideration to applications from these individuals and refusing to hire them. This applies to various roles at the company, including those requiring advanced degrees as well as positions such as welders, cooks, and crane operators.
The U.S. government is seeking fair consideration and back pay for individuals who were deterred from or denied employment at SpaceX due to the alleged discrimination. Additionally, civil penalties will be determined at a later stage.
SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, California, has not responded to requests for comment pertaining to the lawsuit.
In other news, a crew is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX rocket early Saturday after NASA postponed the original launch plans due to unresolved paperwork issues. The SpaceX Crew-7 flight will carry an international team of four astronauts to the space station. Commander Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japanese astronaut-surgeon Satoshi Furukawa, and Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will embark on this mission. Moghbeli expressed excitement about the perspective-altering experience of looking back at Earth from space. She recounted her awe when first seeing the Grand Canyon but acknowledges that viewing the home planet from space is an unimaginable sight.
This report includes contributions from Mark Strassmann and William Harwood.
The department charged that SpaceX also refused to “fairly” consider applications from this group of people or to hire them. The positions in question included both ones requiring advanced degrees and others such as welders, cooks and crane operators at the company.
The U.S. is seeking “fair consideration and back pay” for people who were deterred from or denied employment at SpaceX due to the company’s alleged discrimination, in addition to undetermined civil penalties.
SpaceX, which is based in Hawthorne, California, did not reply to a request for comment.
A crew is set to blast off on a SpaceX rocket early Saturday, after NASA scrubbed launch plans a day before to resolve unspecified paperwork issues. The SpaceX Crew-7 flight will take an international team of four — commander Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japanese astronaut-surgeon Satoshi Furukawa and Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov to the space station.
“Every astronaut I’ve talked to has said looking back at Earth changed their perspective,” Moghbeli told CBS News. “I can’t imagine what that’s like for the first time. I even remember seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time and I thought that was incredible, but looking back at our home planet from space, i just can’t imagine.”
Reporting contributed by Mark Strassmann and William Harwood.
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