SpaceX Faces Legal Action for Alleged Discrimination against Refugees & Asylees

Western developed societies have projected themselves as champions of human rights not just for their citizens but also for refugees. Any entity that does any injustice to a citizen or refugee will be tried for it. In this regard, a complaint was filed by the US Department of Justice against tech billionaire Elon Musk’s company SpaceX which discriminated against refugees and asylees between 2018 and 2022. The complaint accuses Space X of discouraging and rejecting applicants who were refugees and asylees.

The complaint states that the company falsely told the mentioned applicants that it could only hire permanent residents of the US, referred to as green card holders.

In response, SpaceX clarified that “export control laws” imposed such a condition, due to which refugees and asylees were rejected. However, the complaint said that this claim of the company was false.

The DOJ has urged the administrative law judge in charge to direct SpaceX to halt its “unlawful” hiring practices. The requested actions from the judge also include setting fines for discrimination, employing those affected by discrimination, and compensating qualified applicants who were denied jobs because of their citizenship status.

A press release published by the DOJ encourages potential victims of discrimination to contact the federal agency for further information. Kristen Clarke, the Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said,

Asylees and refugees have overcome many obstacles in their lives, and unlawful employment discrimination based on their citizenship status should not be one of them. Through this lawsuit, we will hold SpaceX accountable for its illegal employment practices and seek relief that allows asylees and refugees to fairly compete for job opportunities and contribute their talents to SpaceX’s workforce.

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