SpaceX has been accused of illegally sacking eight employees who were disgruntled with its multibillionaire CEO, Elon Musk.
According to a complaint filed with a US labor agency, employees submitted an open letter to the firm's leaders in 2022, citing workplace issues.
According to Reuters, he was termed a "distraction and embarrassment" in the letter.
The BBC has reached out to the rocket and satellite companies for comment.
A regional officer at the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint accusing SpaceX of breaching workers' rights under federal labor legislation, which permits coworkers to lobby for improved working conditions collectively.
According to the lawsuit, those engaged in the open letter were interrogated before being discharged.
According to the lawyers for one of the former employees, Deborah Lawrence, SpaceX has a "toxic culture" in which harassment is condoned.
Lawrence stated in a statement obtained by Reuters, "We wrote the open letter to leadership not out of malice, but because we cared about the mission and the people around us."
The NLRB's general counsel functions as a prosecutor, bringing matters before the organization's five-member board, which is selected by the president.
If SpaceX fails to reach an agreement, the issue will be handled by an administrative judge, whose judgment can be appealed to the board and eventually to a federal appeals court. A hearing is set for March 5th.
If the NLRB finds that the firings violated labor law, it can order that workers be reinstated and given back pay.