A Falcon 9 rocket launches the Transporter-1 mission in January 2021.
SpaceX
The US Department of Justice is investigating Elon Musk’s SpaceX on whether the company discriminates against non-US citizens in its employment practices, according to court documents filed on Thursday.
The DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Division has received a complaint of employment discrimination from a non-US citizen, arguing that the company discriminates against him on the basis of his citizenship status.
“The indictment alleges that on approximately March 10, 2020, during the Prosecution Party’s interview for the position of Technology Strategy Associate, SpaceX asked questions about his citizenship status and ultimately failed to hire him for this position because he is not a legal permanent resident, “DOJ lawyer Lisa Sandoval wrote in a complaint filed Thursday.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment.
SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles, California.
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The Division of Immigrant and Employee Rights (IER) states that it notified SpaceX by e-mail on June 8 that it had opened an investigation, requesting SpaceX to provide information and documents related to its hiring processes and verification of eligibility for employment.
The complaint states that SpaceX responded in August by sending the DOJ a spreadsheet for Form I-9 with employee information dating back to June 2019. But SpaceX denied the DOJ’s request “to produce any document in support of Form I-9,” such as copies of employees’ documents, passports, driving licenses or social security cards, “Sandoval wrote.
IER then obtained a subpoena on October 7, but the complaint alleges that SpaceX refused to produce the cited documents.
SpaceX filed a petition in an administrative court of the DOJ to reject the summons on the grounds that it was beyond the scope of the IER authority, but that petition was rejected and SpaceX was ordered to comply. IER says SpaceX acknowledged the order on Dec. 11, but said IER “does not intend to produce additional information in response to the administrative subpoena.”
The IJ of the DOJ claims that the cited documents are relevant because it shows the extent to which SpaceX employs non-US citizens and says it is not burdensome, although SpaceX told the IER that it will have to retrieve each document manually.
The Justice Department is asking the court to order SpaceX to comply with the lawsuit within two weeks.
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