Export control laws restrict companies from sharing sensitive information and technology with certain individuals from other countries. Rebecca Bernhard, a Minneapolis-based labor lawyer who represents companies, said employers subject to export control laws often ignore the ban on citizenship-based bias in the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), exposing them to legal action. Out of more than 10,000 hires, SpaceX only hired one asylee during that period, according to the lawsuit. The DOJ did not directly cite its guidance in the SpaceX lawsuit, but used nearly identical language to describe the company's alleged violations. "Export control laws and regulations do not prohibit or restrict employers from hiring asylees and refugees; those laws treat asylees and refugees just like U.S. citizens," the department said.

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Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon Musk, Rebecca Bernhard, Bernhard, aslyees, Musk, asylees, Daniel Wiessner, Amy Stevens, Deepa Babington Organizations: SpaceX, Elon, REUTERS, Space Exploration Technologies, U.S . Department of Justice, DOJ, General Motors Co, Immigration, INA, Justice Department, Companies, Thomson Locations: Minneapolis, U.S, United States, Albany , New York