On Thursday, SpaceX took legal action by filing a lawsuit against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which recently accused the aerospace company of unlawfully terminating employees involved in a letter criticizing CEO Elon Musk. The letter referred to Musk as a “distraction and embarrassment.”
SpaceX’s lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Brownsville, Texas, argues that the NLRB’s structure, which issued a complaint against the company, violates the U.S. Constitution. The NLRB contends that SpaceX violated federal labor law by firing eight workers in 2022 for signing the letter, accusing Musk of making sexist comments against company policies. The case is set to be heard by an administrative judge and then a five-member board appointed by the U.S. president, with decisions subject to appeal in federal court.
In response, SpaceX claims that the NLRB’s structure is unconstitutional because federal law only allows removal of board members and administrative judges for cause, not at will. The lawsuit seeks to halt the NLRB case from progressing.
Notably, SpaceX previously employed a similar strategy to block an administrative case by the U.S. Department of Justice, accusing the company of unlawfully refusing to hire refugees and asylum recipients.
A federal judge in Brownsville, where the recent case was filed, had previously paused an administrative case in November, pending the outcome of a SpaceX lawsuit. The judge ruled that administrative judges at the Justice Department must be appointed by the president, not the attorney general as currently practiced, to align with the U.S. Constitution.