A lawsuit has been filed by 26 Meta employees, alleging that the company utilized artificial intelligence technologies to identify individuals for layoffs, with a focus on those on medical, parental, or family leave. These employees are part of the 8,000 workers, which accounts for approximately 10% of Meta’s workforce, who were slated for layoffs in May. The legal action, submitted in federal court in Oakland, California, contends that Meta employed internal AI systems, keystroke and activity monitoring data, AI token-usage dashboards, and algorithm-assisted performance rankings to determine layoff selections.
The lawsuit asserts that many of the scores and ratings used in the process could not be attained by employees on protected medical or family leave or those with reduced output due to disabilities. It further claims that Meta failed to consider protected leave when evaluating employees’ scores and did not pause the system for the necessary individualized review as mandated by law. Consequently, individuals on protected medical or family leave were disproportionately chosen for layoffs, as detailed by the lawsuit.
While all 26 employees named in the lawsuit have been informed of their impending layoffs, they are still currently employed by Meta, with separations scheduled to commence on July 22. A significant portion of these workers were on parental leave, with some also taking medical leave due to various health conditions and disabilities, which were approved by Meta’s provider. However, the lawsuit alleges that one employee was dissuaded from taking medical leave by a manager who hinted that such a decision would lead to being selected for layoffs, with no accommodation provided by Meta for the disability.
Meta has responded to the allegations, stating that the claims are unfounded and not based on factual information, emphasizing that human decision-makers, not AI, are responsible for workforce management and organizational choices. The lawsuit, which includes plaintiffs who took leave for caregiving, pregnancy-related reasons, and bereavement, alleges violations of state and federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
The legal representatives of the plaintiffs have emphasized the aim of preserving the current employment status of the workers until arbitration, highlighting the irreversible consequences that would follow the finalization of separations, including loss of employer-subsidized health coverage, forfeiture of unvested equity, and triggered immigration implications.