SpaceX sues to dismantle 'unconstitutional' US labor board after it accused company of illegally firing workers

Elon Musk's SpaceX turned the tables on the National Labor Relations Board, filing a lawsuit against the agency on Thursday, accusing its structure of being unconstitutional.

The suit seeks to block the NLRB's complaint filed against SpaceX on Wednesday that alleged the astronautics company illegally fired several of its employees in retaliation, Blaze News previously reported.

What's the background?

In June 2022, eight former SpaceX workers circulated an open letter calling CEO Musk a "distraction and embarrassment" for the company. The employees mainly took issue with allegedly sexist comments Musk had made on social media.

The letter, which the workers shared with 2,600 colleagues in an effort to encourage more SpaceX employees to sign it, urged the company to distance itself from Musk.

"As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX — every Tweet that Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company. It is critical to make clear to our teams and to our potential talent pool that his messaging does not reflect our work, our mission, or our values," the letter read.

"Publicly address and condemn Elon's harmful Twitter behavior," it continued. "SpaceX must swiftly and explicitly separate itself from Elon's personal brand."

SpaceX fired several employees after the letter was released.

On Wednesday, the NLRB argued that the company "impliedly invited employees to quit if they wished to engage in protected concerted activities" and "impliedly threatened employees with discharge if they continued discussion of the issues contained in the Open Letter."

Furthermore, the NLRB accused SpaceX of "interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed" under federal labor laws.

As part of the government agency's complaint, it is seeking to require SpaceX to train its management team on federal labor laws and order it to write letters of apology to the fired employees. If the terminations are found to have been illegal, SpaceX could also face harsher penalties, such as being required to rehire the workers and provide them with back pay.

SpaceX aims to restructure labor board

The corporation filed a lawsuit Thursday against the NLRB, claiming that its "structure violates the separation of powers under Article II of the Constitution, and permanently enjoin the NLRB and its General Counsel from pursuing unfair labor practice charges against SpaceX before agency officials that are unconstitutionally insulated from presidential oversight."

"The NLRB's current way of functioning is miles away from the traditional understanding of the separation of powers," it continues.

The NLRB's hearings, which happen before the agency's administrative law judge, violate the company's "constitutional right to trial by jury," SpaceX contended. The company also stated that the open letter was a "distraction to SpaceX employees around the country."

SpaceX seeks to block the NLRB's current proceedings and asks the court to rule the agency's structure unconstitutional.

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