Feb. 21 (UPI) — The U.S. Justice Department is moving to drop a discrimination case against SpaceX over the company’s hiring practices, court documents show.
“If the administrative proceeding has been dismissed by the end of the 30-day period, Defendants will promptly move to dismiss this case on mootness grounds, and SpaceX will not oppose that relief,” the Justice Department wrote in its filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
The lawsuit was first filed in August of 2023, accusing the company owned by billionaire Elon Musk of discriminatory hiring practices between 2018 and 2022.
“Our investigation found 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,” then Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said at the time.
The suit claimed SpaceX misrepresented a federal law, claiming it was only allowed to hire U.S. citizens, “routinely” discouraging non-Americans from applying for jobs.
At the time, the Justice Department also said Musk refused to cooperate with federal subpoenas.
Texas-based U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera in November blocked the Justice Department from pursuing the lawsuit, raising concerns over jurisdiction.
Musk is now working with the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE in President Donald Trump’s administration.
Earlier in the month, attorneys general for several states filed a lawsuit to stop Musk from what they term an unlawful delegation of executive power.
A federal judge earlier this week rejected a request to block Musk’s department from firing federal workers and accessing data at seven federal agencies.
