On Wednesday, representatives from
the National Labor Relations Board lodged a complaint against SpaceX, alleging
that the corporation forced its employees to sign unlawful non-disparagement
and confidentiality agreements in exchange for receiving severance money.
According to an agency spokesman, the lawsuit also claims that the aerospace
business violated the law by making employees sign specific arbitration
agreements and class-action waivers in order to be hired.
"Overly
broad" employment contracts, according to the chief counsel of the NLRB,
can be coercive and discourage employees from speaking up to improve their working
circumstances.
A
request for response from SpaceX was not immediately answered.
The latest complaint intensifies the
conflict between Musk, who has filed a lawsuit to challenge the board's very
existence, and labor officials. SpaceX has claimed in federal court that the
NLRB's organizational structure is illegal and that, as a result, the
organization is not entitled to bring legal action against the corporation.
(Amazon and Trader Joe's have effectively argued the same point in labor board
procedures.)
The National Labor Relations body
(NLRB) consists of a five-member body that interprets collective bargaining
laws and a prosecuting branch. The organization monitors union elections in the
private sector and brings legal action against unions and businesses who
violate workers' rights. It does not have the authority to impose fines, but it
can obtain back compensation for employees who were unlawfully terminated.
SpaceX referred to the NLRB's organizational design as "the very
definition of tyranny" in its challenge to the agency's constitutionality.
Based
on allegations made on behalf of two former workers who claim they were
wrongfully fired for exercising their rights, the NLRB has filed a fresh
complaint against SpaceX.
The general counsel requested in the
lawsuit that SpaceX remove the arbitration clauses and class-action waivers
from its hiring documents and that the firm inform former workers that it will
not enforce the purportedly illegal terms of the severance agreement.
If
SpaceX declines to reach a settlement, the matter will be heard by an NLRB
administrative law judge.
Prosecutors for the NLRB claim that SpaceX unlawfully terminated eight
employees who expressed their dissatisfaction with the company's management and
culture in an open letter. This case is what prompted SpaceX to file a
complaint against the NLRB. The employees particularly mentioned Musk's social
media conduct as an issue.
According to an NLRB complaint,
SpaceX allegedly forced staff members not to share the open letter by
questioning them about it.
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