SpaceX firings likely violate US labor law, experts say

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge | Photo by Joshua Lott / Getty Images

The firings of the employees involved in crafting the open letter may have violated US labor law. The letter called for stronger anti-harassment policies at the company and for Musk to have a less active presence on social media. The employees were terminated after the letter was published.

It is not clear if any of the fired employees will file a lawsuit with theNLRB. Lawyers say they will have a good case if they do. Charlotte Garden is a law professor at Seattle University who wrote about employee speech rights for the Economic Policy Institute.

It's difficult to prove that an employee was fired in reprisal for speaking up, but it's easy to do with the help of the company. In her note to employees, Shotwell said that the employees had been terminated because of their involvement with the letter, which she characterized as "overreaching activism." The firings came less than a day after the letter, making the connection hard to ignore.

Mary Inman is an attorney at Constantine Cannon. How does this affect workers? We don't want to hear from you

The company did not reply to the request.

The main hurdle for a legal challenge would be to show that the letter itself constitutes employees coming together to discuss working conditions, but the letter's emphasis on company goals and "no asshole" policy seems to fit that model There are exceptions to the rule if speech is abusive or offensive, but they don't fit with the circumstances of the case.

Garden said that the letter was mostly about working conditions. The National Labor Relations Board would see it that way as well.

If the case is successful, the fired employees could be paid back their wages. Managers and supervisors are not subject to the National Labor Relations Act.

The issues raised in the letter fit into longstanding harassment concerns within the company. In December, five former SpaceX employees came forward with harassment complaints. The company retaliated against her after she reported the harassment incident, according to the lawsuit. The employee letter states that recent events are not isolated and are indicative of a broader culture.

One of Musk's companies has been in violation of US labor law before. The National Labor Relations Board ordered the company to pay back pay to a fired employee. Over a year after the order was issued, Musk's statement that unionization would mean the end of stock options is still live.

As a result of the firings of SpaceX, the Communications Workers of America is going to intensify their efforts to organize tech workers. When his employees are exercising their legally protected right to speak out about their working conditions, Eldon Musk is not committed to free speech. We hope this will be a point of pride for workers at the company.