The labor board lodged a grievance, alleging that it unlawfully dismissed eight employees for their criticism of Elon Musk.
SpaceX was accused of wrongfully firing eight employees who had written an open letter condemning Elon Musk’s behavior on social media, as well as the company’s response to it. The allegations were made by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) not too long ago. At this time, Bloomberg reports that SpaceX is attempting to impede the progression of the case by filing a lawsuit against the labor board. According to reports, the corporation is arguing in its lawsuit that the complaint ought to be dismissed because the structure of the National Labor Relations Board is “unconstitutional.”
The complaint filed by SpaceX is directed at the manner in which the labor board conducts its hearings. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) chooses to conduct its procedures with its own administrative judges, and the company claims that this violates its “constitutional right to trial by jury.” Companies have the ability to appeal decisions made by agency judges to members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington. They may even try to take their appeal all the way to the federal court level. It has been reported that SpaceX has requested that the case that has been brought against it be placed on hold in order to prevent the corporation from having to go through “protracted administrative proceedings before an unconstitutionally structured agency.”
In the open letter that is at the heart of this lawsuit, Musk’s behavior on social media was described as “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.” The CEO was called out for his “harmful Twitter behavior,” which included a message in which he made a joke about the sexual misconduct claim that was brought against him. In the letter, the corporation was requested to denounce destructive behavior and to hold all members of leadership accountable for their acts. According to the complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), SpaceX terminated the employment of nine employees as a result of the letter. They were terminated unlawfully for “engaging in protected concerted activity at work.”
In the complaint that it filed, SpaceX stated that the open letter “caused significant distraction to SpaceX employees around the country” and that it terminated the individuals who were engaged “for violating numerous company policies.” A similar strategy was utilized by the private space firm in the past, as reported by Reuters, in order to prevent the United States Department of Justice from pursuing an administrative complaint that accused the company of engaging in discriminatory and unequal hiring practices. In addition, SpaceX has filed a lawsuit to challenge the fact that the administrative judges of the Justice Department have powers that are reserved for officials chosen by the President, despite the fact that they were only appointed by the United States Attorney to their positions. It was the company’s successful attempt to persuade the judge to put the administrative case against it on hold while it continued to pursue its own legal action.