AUSTIN, Texas — Spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX has filed a lawsuit against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), claiming that a case the board filed against the company previously was unconstitutional.
The lawsuit claims that judges for the NLRB – an independent federal agency tasked with safeguarding the rights of employees to organize – are unconstitutionally protected from presidential oversight, thereby violating Section Two of the U.S. Constitution and giving all executive power to the president.
The suit also claims that the NLRB violates Section Two because the president needs to be able to remove subordinates.
According to court documents, NLRB judges can only be removed for cause, protecting them from presidential oversight.
This new lawsuit comes after a federal appeals court rejected SpaceX's attempt to challenge the labor board's structure in Texas rather than Los Angeles. SpaceX previously sued the NLRB in January, claiming the board's in-house enforcement proceedings violated the company's constitutional right to a jury trial.
Hearings for this case are expected to begin in May.