The United States labor agency has alleged that SpaceX acted unlawfully in terminating employees who wrote a public letter criticizing CEO Elon Musk and giving the impression that employee actions were being monitored by the aerospace company.

A complaint was filed by a regional director in Los Angeles for the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, consolidating eight charges of unfair labor practices against SpaceX. These cases are a result of the company’s reported actions after a letter from employees circulated in June 2022.

The correspondence, in addition to other concerns about the workplace, urged leaders to denounce Musk’s behavior on X – the social media platform formerly known as Twitter – and hold all individuals responsible for inappropriate actions. Musk’s behavior involved downplaying allegations of sexual harassment made against him, which he denied.

According to the open letter, Elon, our CEO and main representative, is considered the public image of SpaceX. This means that any tweets he sends are viewed as official statements from the company. The letter also mentions that Musk’s behavior can often cause distractions and embarrassment.

Nine employees were fired for their role in the letter, according to a filing made in November 2022 on behalf of one of the employees to the NLRB. However, the complaint filed on Wednesday only includes eight of these employees.

Besides the terminations, the allegation claims that SpaceX conducted investigations on other employees regarding the letter, disclosed that those who took part in the letter were dismissed, and encouraged employees to resign if they objected to the actions of CEO Elon Musk.

The accusation also claims that certain individuals were presented with screenshots of conversations between staff members regarding the letter, which caused them to believe that their legally protected group actions were being monitored by SpaceX.

In response to the board’s grievance, SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the NLRB in federal court on Thursday. The lawsuit claims that the NRLB’s organizational structure is unconstitutional and their actions against the company are illegal.

According to SpaceX’s legal team, the employees’ letter was a source of major disruption for workers nationwide and was the subject of the board’s complaint in the lawsuit. The letter resulted in the termination of the employees involved due to their violation of multiple company policies.

SpaceX did not promptly reply to requests for comment from The Associated Press on Thursday.

According to a filing submitted on Wednesday, the company located in Hawthorne, California, has until mid-January to reply to the complaint. This complaint is the initial action taken by the NLRB in addressing the allegations and pursuing a resolution. If no resolution is reached, a hearing is set to commence on March 5 in Los Angeles.

Source: wral.com