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SpaceX has sued the US labor board in federal court. The company said that the complaint filed against it regarding the dismissal of employees should be postponed because the agency’s structure is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit comes after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) prosecutors filed a formal complaint against SpaceX. The NLRB accused SpaceX of illegally firing eight employees because of an internal letter that contained harsh criticism of Elon Musk. In the federal lawsuit, SpaceX said the complaint should be dismissed because the agency’s structure violates the “separation of powers” established in the US Constitution. It is asking the court to stop the NLRB from proceeding against it using the agency’s own system of administrative law judges in a way that SpaceX argues is unconstitutional, according to Bloomberg.
“The NLRB proceedings against SpaceX deprive it of its constitutional right to trial by jury,” SpaceX said in the suit.
In 2022, several SpaceX employees circulated an open letter on the company’s internal communications forums criticizing Musk. It called for distancing from the head of the company, causing unrest among employees and disrupting the work of one of the most important companies in the world. In its lawsuit, SpaceX stated that the open letter “caused significant distraction to SpaceX employees around the country,” and that the company fired various employees associated with the letter “for violating numerous company policies.”
Complaints from NLRB prosecutors are reviewed by agency judges. Their decisions can be appealed only to members of the NBRB in Washington and then to federal court. SpaceX’s suit argues the agency judges lack sufficient presidential oversight, and that “to prevent SpaceX from undergoing protracted administrative proceedings before an unconstitutionally structured agency,” the NLRB’s case against it should be put on hold.
“The NLRB…violated the Fifth and Seventh Amendment to the Constitution, most relevant passage here being that the “President cannot remove NLRB officers”, only NLRB members can remove them…The NLRB has what are called Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) are classified as “inferior officers” under Article II of the Constitution. However, they had at least two layers of protection that prevented them from being easily removed from their position. This arrangement made it difficult for the President to fulfill the constitutional duty of ensuring that the laws are faithfully executed, as it limited the ability to manage these judges directly,” as noted @asunapg/X.
It took the NLRB 18 months to file the complaint against SpaceX. However, the space company filed its lawsuit as soon as the NLRB gave notice of the hearing to the administrative law judge. SpaceX emphasized that the company’s damage “in the event declaratory and injunctive relief is not granted, far outweighs any harm, or mere inconvenience, to the NLRB if such relief is granted.” In contrast to the NLRB, which did not file the adjudicative proceedings until 18 months after the allegedly harmful conduct, SpaceX has filed this action as quickly as possible—as soon as the NLRB gave notice of an ALJ hearing.”
Article edited by @SmokeyShorts; follow him on X
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