Rocket and satellite maker SpaceX sued a U.S. labor board on Thursday to block its case, accusing the company of illegally firing employees who sent a letter to company executives calling CEO Elon Musk “a distraction and a shame”.
In the lawsuit filed in Brownsville, Texas, a SpaceX federal court claims that the structure of the National Labor Relations Board, which filed a complaint against the company on Wednesday, violates the US Constitution.
The NLRB alleges that SpaceX violated federal labor law by firing eight workers in 2022 for signing 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 by a five-member board appointed by the president of the United States. The board’s decisions can be appealed to 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.
A letter from SpaceX employees called CEO Elon Musk “a distraction and an embarrassment.” AP The NLRB alleges SpaceX violated federal labor law by laying off eight workers in 2022. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The lawsuit seeks to block the NLRB case from moving forward.
An NLRB spokeswoman declined to comment.
SpaceX recently used a similar tactic to block a Justice Department administrative case that claimed 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 SpaceX lawsuit. The judge said the Constitution required that Justice Department administrative judges be appointed by the president, not the attorney general as is currently the case.
SpaceX 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. Above, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. REUTERS
The NLRB already faces a similar lawsuit from a Starbucks employee who opposed unionization at the New York store where she works. The worker sued the board in October after it denied her request to hold an election to dissolve the union. The agency has not responded to that demand.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn