Twenty-six employees of Meta Platforms have filed a lawsuit accusing the tech giant of using AI-powered software to target specific staff for mass layoffs, disproportionately affecting people with disabilities and those who took sick leave. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on July 13 in Oakland, California, alleges that Meta relied on AI-assisted systems to score and rank employees based on productivity and monitored activity, including keystrokes, screen content, emails, and browser history.
Allegations of Discrimination and Retaliation
The plaintiffs, who filed anonymously, claim Meta violated federal and state laws banning discrimination or retaliation against workers with disabilities, those on medical leave, or pregnant employees. They also assert that Meta failed to test its AI systems for bias, violating recently adopted California and New York City laws. The employees were told in May that their jobs would be cut starting July 22, and they are asking the court to block the layoffs while they pursue their claims privately.
Specific Cases Highlighted
The lawsuit includes a scientist who was on approved pre-natal maternity leave and was notified of her layoff just two days before giving birth. An engineer claimed he received a low ranking due to sick leave taken for an injury. According to the 71-page filing, Meta used internal AI tools such as 'Metamate,' a large language model assistant, and an employee-trained 'second brain' that tracked communications and documents. The plaintiffs argue: 'The result was that employees who took protected leaves were disproportionately selected for layoff, based on scoring that not only failed to account for their protected leaves, but in effect penalised the employees for exercising their legal rights to these leaves.'
Meta's Response
A Meta spokesperson told Metro: 'These claims lack merit and are not based on fact. Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI.' The lawsuit is believed to be the first challenging the alleged use of AI in conducting layoffs. Meta laid off around 10% of its global workforce in May, affecting nearly 8,000 employees. The company has increased its AI investments, making AI central to its products and internal operations.
Legal and Regulatory Context
The lawsuit claims Meta launched the monitoring program via a 'low visibility internal post – made by an engineer rather than a senior leader,' and that on some teams, employees received no consent or opt-out option. The legal implications of using AI for key workplace decisions have drawn scrutiny over privacy and trust. States like California, Colorado, and Illinois have passed regulations to protect workers from AI-related bias and 'automated decision systems.' The 26 plaintiffs are based across six states, including California and New York City.
