Rocket and satellite maker SpaceX sued the US Labor Board after an employee at the agency accused Spacex of violating a federal workplace law by illegally firing employees who circulated a letter criticizing CEO Elon Musk and allegedly calling him a “distraction and embarrassment.” Elon Musk’s firm claimed that the structure of the National Labor Relations Board, the US agency that issued the complaint against Spacex on Wednesday, is unconstitutional.
NLRB claimed that SpaceX violated federal law by firing eight workers illegally in 2022 for signing a letter and accused Musk of breaking the company policy by making sexist remarks. The case is set up by an administrative judge and then a five-member board appointed by the US president, and the decision can be challenged later in federal court. Spacex mentioned in its lawsuit that federal law only allows administrative judges and board members to be removed for cause and not at will; thus, the NLRB is unconstitutional. The lawsuit aims to stop the NLRB from moving the case forward.
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Notably, this tactic was also used by SpaceX earlier to block a case against the firm. They used this strategy to block a case by the US Department of Justice accusing Spacex of refusing to employ refugees and asylum beneficiaries. Consequently, a federal judge in Brownsville put that case on hold because the US Constitution makes it important for the administrative judges at the justice department to be chosen by the president instead of the attorney general.
Additionally, NLRB is also facing a lawsuit similar to SpaceX by a Starbucks employee. She sued the board in October after she requested to oppose the unionization of a store in New York, and the board denied her appeal to conduct an election to dissolve the union. However, the NLRB has not yet acknowledged that lawsuit.
