SpaceX, the rocket and satellite company headed up by South African businessman Elon Musk, is being sued by the US Justice Department for allegedly discriminatory hiring practices.

In a statement, the Justice Department alleges that “from at least September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

The case cites a number of job postings and public statements from SpaceX in which it wrongly claimed that it could only hire US citizens and lawful permanent residents due to federal regulations known as export control laws.

It also points to comments made by Musk on Twitter – recently rebranded as X – from June 2020 where he incorrectly claimed that “US law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are advanced weapons technology."

The Justice Department accused Musk of making “discriminatory public statements” on Twitter.

Commenting on the lawsuit, US assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s civil rights division said that SpaceX "failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status and imposed what amounted to a ban on their hire regardless of their qualification, in violation of federal law".

Clarke added that SpaceX recruiters and officials “actively discouraged” asylum recipients and refugees from applying for jobs at the company.

The suit is seeking fair consideration and back pay for asylum recipients and refugees who were deterred or denied employment at SpaceX, while also seeking civil penalties and policy changes to ensure future compliance with federal non-discrimination mandates.

Reacting to the lawsuit, Musk on Twitter described it as “weaponization of the DOJ for political purposes." He added that SpaceX "was told repeatedly that hiring anyone who was not a permanent resident of the United States would violate international arms trafficking law, which would be a criminal offense."

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