Feb 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. labor board is abandoning a years-long legal battle against Elon Musk’s SpaceX and signaling it will steer clear of future cases against the company, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing a letter from the board.
Two years after issuing a complaint accusing the aerospace firm of firing eight engineers because of their involvement in an open letter criticizing Musk, the National Labor Relations Board said it was dismissing the case, according to the report.
In a letter to the attorneys of the former employees, the labor board cited a recent opinion issued by a separate agency, the National Mediation Board, arguing that SpaceX engineers belonged under its jurisdiction rather than NLRB’s, the report said.
Citing a letter seen by Bloomberg, the report quoted Danielle Pierce, a regional director of the agency saying, “Accordingly, the National Labor Relations Board lacks jurisdiction over the Employer and, therefore, I am dismissing your charge.”
SpaceX and NMB did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment while the NLRB declined comment on the report.
In August last year, a U.S. appeals court agreed with SpaceX and two other companies that the NLRB’s structure is likely unlawful and blocked the agency from pursuing cases against them.
The NMB oversees railroad and airline companies such as American Airlines Group, while the NLRB oversees most other private sector employers, including manufacturers like Boeing.
Under federal law, workers covered by the NLRB have a right to participate in a wide range of collective action aimed at improving their working conditions, with or without a union. Workers under NMB jurisdiction are covered by a different law, which lacks equivalent protections, the report said.
(Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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