U.S. government sues SpaceX for discrimination

Elon Musk's company SpaceX discriminated against refugees and asylees between 2018 and 2022, according to a complaint filed Wednesday by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The complaint alleges that SpaceX, which designs, manufactures, and launches rockets and spacecraft, wrongly discouraged and rejected applicants who were refugees and asylees.

While the complaint doesn't speculate whether SpaceX's policy was an unintentional or willful misinterpretation of federal law, it states that the company falsely told prospective applicants it could only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, sometimes referred to as green card holders.

SpaceX explained that "export control laws" imposed such a requirement, then rejected refugee and asylee applicants as a result. But the company's claim was untrue, according to the complaint.

The DOJ has asked that the administrative law judge overseeing the case order SpaceX to, among other actions, cease and desist its "illegal" hiring practices, pay a civil penalty for each individual discriminated against, hire victims of its discriminatory practices, and provide back play plus interest to applicants who were qualified for a role but were rejected because of their citizenship status.

A press release issued by the DOJ urges potential victims to contact the federal agency for more information.

"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," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in the release.

"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."

SpaceX had not publicly responded to the complaint at the time of this article's publication.

The government's complaint alleges that SpaceX and some of its employees, including founder and CEO Elon Musk, falsely claimed in public that applicants had to be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

After SpaceX failed to respond to the government's investigation, which it launched in 2020, the DOJ subpoenaed the company to obtain previously requested documents.

Investigators found that, in addition to false public statements, SpaceX's internal hiring practices were also discriminatory.

Between September 2018 and May 2022, the company used a database that allowed recruiters to see applicants' self-identified citizenship or immigration status, according to the complaint. During that time period, the complaint alleges, SpaceX officials repeatedly rejected multiple candidates using a code indicating that they weren't authorized to work at the company when, in fact, they were.