Just a day after the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against SpaceX over what it alleges was the unlawful firing of eight workers who penned a 2022 open letter that condemned CEO Elon Musk for making light of allegations that he exposed himself and sexually propositioned an employee, the company countered on Thursday with a lawsuit of their own. It claimed that the National Labor Relations Board’s structure violates the “separation of powers” under the U.S. Constitution. “The NLRB proceedings against SpaceX deprive it of its constitutional right to trial by jury,” the latest lawsuit reads, according to Bloomberg. The company claimed the open letter “caused significant distraction to SpaceX employees around the country” and that it justifiably terminated workers “for violating numerous company policies.” According to Bloomberg, NLRB lawsuits are sent to judges within the federal government agency, and, if appealed, the cases go to federal court. SpaceX asserted that because these agency judges have no presidential oversight, the lawsuit against them should be blocked. The NLRB has set a trial for the fired SpaceX workers case for March 2024.
