The U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday its decision to drop a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, which was accused of discriminatory practices against job seekers based on their citizenship status.
In a straightforward motion filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Justice Department indicated its intention to dismiss the case with prejudice. This legal move ensures that the charges brought forward cannot be refiled in the future.
Notably, the filing did not provide any reasons for the case’s dismissal.
The lawsuit, initially brought against SpaceX on August 23, 2023, alleged that the company engaged in unlawful hiring practices under federal law. The accusation was that SpaceX did not adequately consider candidates who were refugees or individuals granted asylum within the United States. The Justice Department contended that the company actively discouraged these groups from applying, did not hire them even when they were qualified, and consistently turned them away due to their citizenship status.
At that time, Elon Musk had defended SpaceX’s hiring policy by stating that the company was restricted to hiring only U.S. citizens or permanent residents as mandated by export control regulations. He expressed his view on the social platform X, describing the case as an example of the DOJ being used for political agendas.
However, the Justice Department had dismissed Musk’s justification, maintaining that the export control laws did not impose such hiring restrictions.
This situation is still unfolding, and more updates are expected to come.
