Rocket and satellite maker SpaceX on Thursday ordered an injunction against a lawsuit accusing Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk of illegally firing an employee who sent a letter to executives saying he “distracted and embarrassed” him. filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Labor Relations Board seeking
SpaceX claims in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Brownsville, Texas, that the makeup of the National Labor Relations Board, which filed a complaint against the company Wednesday, violates the U.S. Constitution.
The NLRB alleges that SpaceX violated federal labor law by firing eight employees in 2022 for signing a letter accusing Musk of making sexist comments that went against company policy. ing. The case will be heard by an administrative judge and then by a five-member commission appointed by the president of the United States. Board decisions may be appealed to federal court.
But SpaceX argues in its lawsuit that the NLRB's structure is unconstitutional because federal law allows board members and administrative judges to be removed only for cause, not at will. claims.
The lawsuit seeks to block the NLRB's case from proceeding.
A spokesperson for the NLRB declined to comment.
SpaceX recently used a similar tactic to block an administrative lawsuit by the Justice Department alleging that the company illegally denied employment to refugees and asylum seekers.
A federal judge in Brownsville, where Thursday's lawsuit was filed, in November suspended the administrative case pending the outcome of SpaceX's lawsuit. The judge said the Constitution requires that administrative judges in the Justice Department be appointed by the president, rather than by the attorney general, as is currently the case.
The NLRB has already received a similar lawsuit from Starbucks employees who opposed unionizing at the New York store where they work. The worker sued the commission in October after the commission rejected his petition for an election to dissolve the union. The agency has not responded to the lawsuit.
