- Lawsuit filed claiming Meta used AI to select workers on leave for layoffs, with 26 employees suing.
- The workers allege that those AI tools targeted them after they asked for protected or maternity leave or disability accommodation.
- The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in the northern district of California, points to Meta’s workforce reduction of earlier this year.
- The suit alleges that Meta used a constellation of internal artificial intelligence systems to pinpoint who to lay off.
- The 26 workers listed in the lawsuit allege the company used AI systems to score, rank and select employees for inclusion on the layoff list.
- The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary court ruling to stop Meta from finalizing the layoffs while they pursue their claims.
- The lawsuit claims that employees who took protected leaves were disproportionately selected for layoff.
A group of 26 Meta employees has filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging that the company used artificial intelligence to unfairly target workers for layoffs, particularly those on medical or parental leave. The lawsuit claims that Meta's AI systems, which include performance ratings and activity monitoring, failed to account for protected leave.
According to the complaint, the layoffs violated several laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The plaintiffs argue that the AI tools disproportionately selected employees who had taken protected leave, as their performance metrics were negatively impacted during their absence.
One plaintiff, a scientist on approved pre-birth pregnancy leave, was notified of her layoff just two days before giving birth. Another engineer reported receiving a “lowered rating” due to time taken off for an injury. The lawsuit states that many of the employees involved had taken leave for caregiving or pregnancy-related reasons, with eight women having taken maternity leave.
The lawsuit seeks a preliminary court ruling to halt the layoffs while the case is pursued, arguing that the harms of final separations would be irreversible, including loss of health coverage and unvested equity. Meta has denied the allegations, stating that the claims “lack merit and are not based on facts” and that decisions were made by people, not AI.6
The case raises significant questions about the legality of using AI in workforce management, particularly regarding its impact on employees exercising their legal rights to take leave.
“The 26 anonymous employees, still employed until July 22, include a scientist laid off two days before giving birth and an engineer penalized for time off for injury. Meta denies the claims, saying the lawsuit 'lacks merit' and decisions were made by people, not AI.”
The Guardian
