A Falcon 9 rocket launches the Transporter 1 mission in January 2021.
SpaceX
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Elon Musk’s SpaceX over whether the company discriminates against U.S. citizens in its rental practices, according to court documents filed Thursday.
The DOJ’s Department of Immigrant and Employee Rights has received a complaint of discrimination on employment of a non-US citizen, alleging that the company discriminated against him on the basis of his citizenship status.
“The indictment alleges that on or about March 10, 2020, during the interview with the Charging Party for the position of a technology strategy employee, SpaceX inquired about his citizenship status and ultimately failed to appoint him to the position. because he is not a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, ”DOJ lawyer Lisa Sandoval wrote in a complaint filed Thursday.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. The justice department declined to comment.
SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles, California.
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The Immigrant and Employee Rights (IER) Division says it notified SpaceX by e-mail on June 8 that it had launched an investigation and requested SpaceX to provide information and documents related to the rental processes and the verification processes for service.
According to the complaint, SpaceX responded in August and sent the DOJ a Form I-9 spreadsheet with information on employees dating back to June 2019. But SpaceX refused the DOJ’s request ‘to provide any Form I-9 supporting documentation. “such as copies of employees’ passports, driver’s licenses, or social security cards,” Sandoval wrote.
IER then received a subpoena on October 7, but the complaint alleges that SpaceX refused to submit the subpoenaed documents.
SpaceX has filed a petition with a DOJ administrative tribunal to dismiss the summons on the grounds that it exceeds the scope of the IER’s authority, but that the petition was denied and that SpaceX should be ordered. IER says SpaceX acknowledged that order on December 11, but told IER “that it does not intend to provide additional information in response to the administrative subpoena.”
The IJ of the DOJ argues that the summons documents are relevant because it shows the extent to which SpaceX appoints non-US citizens, and says that it is not heavy, although SpaceX told the IER that it must pick up each document by hand .
The Justice Department is seeking a court order requiring SpaceX to comply with the subpoena within two weeks.
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