SpaceX hit by DoJ discrimination suit
August 25, 2023
By Chris Forrester
SpaceX is being sued by the US Department of Justice with allegations that the rocket company has been biased in its hiring of staff.
The civil lawsuit alleges that SpaceX has deliberately not hired former refugees and asylum seekers.
SpaceX “routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status” from at least September 2018 to May 2022, according to the DoJ.
The allegations adds: “Out of more than 10,000 hires, SpaceX hired only one individual who was an asylee and identified as such in his application,” states the action.
The lawsuit says between 2018 and 2022, SpaceX “wrongly claimed” that US ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) export control laws limited its hiring to US citizens and lawful permanent residents.
The suit was filed in the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a division of the DoJ that adjudicates immigration cases.
The case revolves around Fabian Hutter, a US resident who has dual citizenship from Austria and Canada.