Brett Bartlett and Elizabeth Humphrey Write in Law360 on Employment Law Risks in the Space Economy

Law360 featured an article by Brett Bartlett, co-chair of Seyfarth’s national Wage & Hour Litigation practice group, and associate Elizabeth Humphrey, “Artemis II Highlights Earthbound Employment Law Risks.” The piece, published on April 13, 2026, examines how the rapidly expanding space economy is reshaping familiar employment law risks for employers supporting space-related missions.

The authors explore how traditional employment law doctrines—such as retaliation, whistleblower protections, wage and hour compliance, and workplace safety—are likely to apply in extraordinary operational settings, even when work is connected to orbital or international missions. While international space treaties govern state-level responsibilities, Bartlett and Humphrey emphasize that domestic employment law will continue to govern private workforce disputes, underscoring the need for proactive compliance and risk management as commercial space activity accelerates.

As the authors note:

“For space companies, the most immediate legal risks are unlikely to arise from international space law. Instead, they will arise from familiar employment law doctrines being applied in unfamiliar — and potentially attention-grabbing — contexts.”

The full article is available here.