Publications

Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) sued Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (“SpaceX”), accusing the aerospace company of discriminatory hiring practices against refugees and people granted asylum in the U.S., in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), which prohibits citizenship status discrimination at all stages of the hiring process including recruiting, screening candidates, interviewing, and deciding who to hire.   

DOJ’s lawsuit alleges that SpaceX discouraged asylees and refugees from applying to the company by wrongly claiming in public statements and job postings that, under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) (collectively “U.S. export controls laws”), SpaceX could only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (the latter often referred to as “green card holders”).  It further alleges that SpaceX failed to fairly consider asylees and refugees who actually submitted job applications. 

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