SpaceX Successfully Blocks DOJ Lawsuit Over Employee Hiring Discrimination Case

JAKARTA - SpaceX, Elon Musk's commercial space company, has received support from a district judge in a case of recruitment discrimination against refugees and asylum recipients in the United States (US).

From a Reuters report, US District Judge Rolando Olvera decided that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) had no right to review the case. This statement was issued on Wednesday, November 8.

Olvera's decision certainly benefits SpaceX. The Starlink development company succeeded in blocking a DOJ lawsuit stating that SpaceX does not provide opportunities for refugees and asylum recipients to work.

The DOJ filed their lawsuit over the recruitment that SpaceX carried out from September 2018 to mid-2022. SpaceX was stated to only employ American citizens and legal permanent residents.

SpaceX  does not accept these accusations. They said that, "SpaceX does not engage in any practice or pattern of discrimination against anyone, including asylum seekers or refugees."

The company that owns the Falcon also said that they only want to recruit the best candidates regardless of their nationality. This is proven because SpaceX has employed hundreds of employees who are not American citizens.

In response to the DOJ's accusations, SpaceX alleged that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) was not entitled to hear this case because it was appointed unconstitutionally by the DOJ. SpaceX added that the authority is only those directly appointed by the president.

This accusation from SpaceX was later supported by Judge Olvera. They agreed that the judge appointed to the case had no jurisdiction. It is not yet known whether the lawsuit from the DOJ can still be extended, but so far SpaceX has been successful against the DOJ.