A U.S. labor agency put SpaceX and founder Elon Musk in its sights on Wednesday when the National Labor Relations Board accused the company of illegally firing eight employees who voiced concerns about Musk in a letter.
An official with the NLRB issued the complaint and alleged SpaceX violated the workers’ rights under federal labor law that allows employees to band together and advocate better working conditions.
The eight employees allegedly called Musk a “distraction and embarrassment” to the company after he made a series of posts to X, formerly Twitter, starting in 2020 that were sexually suggestive. The employees demanded SpaceX condemn the posts, saying they didn’t align with the company’s policies on diversity or workplace conduct, according to Reuters.
“We wrote the open letter to leadership not out of malice, but because we cared about the mission and the people around us,” former employee Deborah Lawrence said.
The NLRB’s complaint also accuses SpaceX of interrogating employees about the letter, disparaging workers who were involved, and threatening to fire workers who also criticized Musk or the company.
The NLRB’s general counsel operates as a prosecutor who takes cases to a five-member board that hears the cases. If the board does find the firings violate labor law, it could order the company to reinstate the employees with back pay. However, SpaceX also has the ability to appeal a decision made by the board, which would be heard by an administrative judge.
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Wednesday’s case is the latest to accuse one of Musk’s companies of violating employees’ federal rights under labor and employment laws. An earlier report from Reuters found at least 600 instances of workplace injuries by SpaceX, including crushed limbs, amputations, electrocutions, and head and eye wounds.
Tesla, which was also founded by Musk, has incurred several NLRB complaints over allegations of racial discrimination, which the company denies. X has also received one complaint that it illegally fired an employee who complained about the company’s return-to-office policy, but the company has denied any wrongdoing.
