US Judge Refuses to Dismiss Lawsuit Accusing X of Age Bias in 2022 Layoffs

A California federal decide has refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing X, the social media service previously referred to as Twitter, of disproportionately shedding older staff when Elon Musk acquired the corporate final yr.

US District Judge Susan Illston on Tuesday mentioned the plaintiff within the proposed class motion, John Zeman, had supplied sufficient proof that the mass layoffs had a larger affect on older staff to proceed pursuing the case.

Zeman, for instance, claims that X laid off 60 p.c of staff who had been 50 or older and practically three-quarters of those that had been over 60, in contrast with 54 p.c of staff youthful than 50.

Illston dominated that the federal regulation banning office age bias permits plaintiffs to carry so-called “disparate impact” claims in a category motion, a problem that has divided courts.

The decide dismissed a declare that X deliberately focused older staff for layoffs, however gave Zeman a month to file an amended lawsuit fleshing out that declare.

Shannon Liss-Riordan, Zeman’s lawyer, mentioned “this decision validates the arguments we are making that the discrimination claims can go forward.”

X didn’t reply to a request for remark.

The lawsuit is one in all a few dozen X is going through stemming from Musk’s determination to put off about half of Twitter’s workforce starting final November.

Those instances embody varied claims, together with that X laid off staff and contractors with out the required advance discover and that Musk compelled out staff with disabilities by refusing to permit distant work and calling on staff to be extra “hardcore.”

At least two lawsuits declare the corporate owes ex-employees at the very least $500 million (roughly Rs. 4,100 crore) in severance pay. Twitter has denied wrongdoing in these instances.

Liss-Riordan additionally represents about 2,000 former Twitter staff who’ve filed comparable authorized claims in opposition to the corporate in arbitration.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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