SpaceX has successfully obtained a court order preventing the progression of a complaint filed by the US Justice Department. The complaint, initiated in August, accused SpaceX of violating the Immigration and Nationality Act with its hiring practices.
The Justice Department claimed that the aerospace company discouraged individuals with asylum and refuge status from applying for jobs and even rejected their applications.
The court order, granted by a federal judge in Texas on Wednesday, puts a halt to the case, with SpaceX arguing that the allegations were both factually and legally unsupportable. (via Reuters) Through his legal team Elon Musk contended that SpaceX faced restrictions on hiring foreign nationals due to information-sharing constraints related to rocket technology.
This legal saga began in 2020 when the Justice Department started an investigation into SpaceX’s hiring procedures after receiving a complaint from an individual who asserted that he was denied employment based on his non-US citizenship status. The court’s decision to block the case aligns with SpaceX’s assertion that the accusations were baseless.
At the same time, SpaceX had filed a lawsuit in September, claiming that the administrative case against them violated the US Constitution. The recent court order blocks the Justice Department’s case until the resolution of SpaceX’s constitutional challenge.
