SpaceX sues NLRB after company was accused of illegally firing workers critical of Elon Musk

SpaceX, the space technology company, filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a US labor board in an attempt to halt a case accusing the company of unlawfully dismissing employees. Those employees had penned a letter to the executive team, identifying CEO, Elon Musk, as a nuisance and source of embarrassment. The legal suit against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), brought before a Texas federal court, contends the board's structure is in conflict with the US Constitution. The NLRB had previously alleged that SpaceX contravened federal labor law by sacking eight workers in 2022 after they signed the letter accusing Musk of uttering sexist remarks that contradicted company rules. The case is due to be judged by an administrative figurehead, before being handled by a five-person board appointed by the US President. However, SpaceX argues in their lawsuit that the NLRB's structure violates the Constitution as board members and administrative judges are only removable for a valid reason, not simply at will. The company is utilizing this lawsuit to thwart the labor board's case. The NLRB did not comment on the issue. Earlier, SpaceX used a similar strategy to halt a Department of Justice case accusing them of unjustly declining to employ refugees and asylum seekers. A federal judge in Brownsville, where Thursday's case was lodged, had previously halted that said case, insisting that the Constitution demands administrative judges at the Justice Department be appointed by the President, not the attorney general. The labor board is currently dealing with a similar lawsuit from a Starbucks employee disagreeing with the unionization of her workplace.