The United States labour regulator has withdrawn a long-running case against SpaceX, marking a significant procedural shift in its approach to oversight of the aerospace company.
Two years after accusing SpaceX of unlawfully dismissing eight engineers involved in an open letter criticising Elon Musk, the National Labor Relations Board has dismissed the complaint. In a letter cited by the New York Times and Bloomberg, the agency stated it lacked jurisdiction over the employer and therefore could not proceed. The case had centred on allegations that the engineers were fired because of their participation in collective workplace expression.
The board’s decision followed a recent opinion from the National Mediation Board, which concluded that SpaceX engineers fall under its authority rather than that of the NLRB. Danielle Pierce, a regional director at the labour board, confirmed in correspondence to the former employees’ lawyers that the agency was disclaiming jurisdiction. The National Mediation Board typically oversees labour relations within railroad and airline companies, while the NLRB regulates most other private sector employers, including manufacturers.
The procedural backdrop includes an appeals court ruling in August last year, which sided with SpaceX and two other companies in finding that the NLRB’s structure was likely unlawful. The court blocked the agency from pursuing cases against those companies. SpaceX and the National Mediation Board did not immediately comment, and the NLRB declined to provide further statement.
The jurisdictional determination carries substantive implications for worker protections. Under federal law, employees covered by the NLRB may engage in a broad range of collective actions to improve working conditions, with or without union representation. Workers subject to National Mediation Board oversight are governed by a separate statutory framework that does not provide equivalent protections. The dismissal therefore resolves the immediate dispute while leaving open questions about the regulatory perimeter applicable to SpaceX’s workforce.
