Twitter has been hit with a wave of legal complaints by former employees. Around 100 individuals are alleging that the company committed various violations following Elon Musk’s takeover. These allegations include targeting women for layoffs and failing to pay promised severance. Shannon Liss-Riordan, a lawyer representing the workers, has filed 100 demands for arbitration against Twitter, which make similar claims to four class action lawsuits that are currently pending in California federal court.
Agreements
The former employees had all signed agreements to bring legal disputes against the company to arbitration, rather than to court, which means they may be barred from participating in the class actions. The arbitration demands accuse Twitter of sex discrimination, breach of contract, and illegally terminating employees who were on medical or parental leave. Liss-Riordan’s firm has also spoken with hundreds of other ex-Twitter employees and plans to file more legal claims in arbitration on their behalf.
Why Twitter has been hit with a wave of legal complaints?
These complaints come after Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November as part of a cost-cutting measure implemented by Musk, who paid $44 billion to acquire the social media platform. In the aftermath of these layoffs, hundreds of additional employees subsequently resigned. The pending class action lawsuits claim that Twitter laid off employees and contractors without the 60 days’ notice required by law, disproportionately laid off women, and forced out workers with disabilities by refusing to allow remote work.
Furthermore, Twitter is also facing at least three complaints filed with a US labor board, alleging that workers were fired for criticizing the company, attempting to organize a strike, and for other conduct protected by federal labor law. The company has denied violating the law requiring advanced notice and has not yet responded to the other claims.
The legal issues facing Twitter come at a time when the company is already under significant scrutiny, with many individuals and organizations calling for increased accountability and transparency in the way that social media platforms operate. These calls have only intensified in the wake of the recent US presidential election, which saw a number of baseless conspiracy theories and misinformation spread on social media platforms, including Twitter.
What now?
Let’s see how these legal issues will ultimately be resolved, however it’s clear that Twitter will need to address these concerns if it hopes to recover the trust of its users and stakeholders. Meantime, the company will likely face ongoing challenges as it seeks to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of social media and online communication.
