Meta sued the use of AI in layoffs targeting workers on medical, parental leave
Founder of Constellation Research Inc. Ray Wang discusses the revolutionary AI tech conference and Meta’s revolutionary computer strategy for ‘Making Money.’
A group of 26 Meta employees sued the tech giant for allegedly using AI-powered software to select people for mass layoffs, unfairly targeting workers with disabilities or those who took medical, parental or family leave.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oakland, California, on Monday, alleges that the company relied on things like internal AI systems, key and activity monitoring data, AI token usage dashboards and algorithm-assisted performance metrics when it made job cuts earlier this year.
Many of these factors “by design, cannot be accrued by an employee who is on protected medical or family leave, or the result of which is reduced disability,” the lawsuit reads, adding that the company did not include protected leave when considering employee scores and “did not establish a system of individual review, leave- and accommodation required by law.”
The plaintiffs are among the 8,000 workers, or about 10% of its workforce, who told Meta in May that they would be disrupted by layoffs, and were told that their jobs would be removed from July 22.
FOUR COUNTRIES SEEK $1.4 TRILLION FOR SEVERAL CHILD SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION TRIALS, META SAYS
A group of 26 Meta employees are suing the tech giant alleging it uses AI-powered software to select people for mass layoffs. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
They say Meta violated state and federal laws — including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act — that prohibit discrimination or retaliation against employees who take medical leave, have a disability or are pregnant.
Employees also say the company failed to test its AI systems for bias, which they say violated laws recently passed in California and New York City.
The plaintiffs, from six states, including California and New York, and Washington, DC, are seeking a preliminary injunction from the court to stop Meta from completing the layoffs while they pursue their claims in private arbitration.
The workers argue that the Meta agreements require workers to resolve workplace disputes individually, but do not apply to temporary relief requests.
The plaintiffs are among 8,000 workers, or about 10% of its workforce, who told Meta in May they would be affected by layoffs. (Image credit by Onur Dogman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/Getty Images)
He said the case calls for the status quo to be maintained and for them to remain employed until it is resolved.
“Once these allegations are resolved, plaintiffs’ damages will not be limited to monetary damages alone,” the lawsuit continued, citing the loss of employer-sponsored health care coverage during pregnancy, postpartum recovery and active medical care.
Meta has denied the allegations in the lawsuit, saying it does not use AI when deciding who to cut from its workforce.
“These claims are unfounded and unfounded. Human resource management and organizational decisions are made by humans, not AI,” a Meta spokesperson told Fox Business.
META SHUTS DOWN AI TOOL AFTER BACK ON PUBLIC INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Meta said it does not use AI when deciding who to cut from its workforce. (Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
About half of the claimants had taken leave for caregiving or pregnancy-related reasons.
Eight employees were women who had taken maternity or pregnancy-related leave, four were men who had taken parental leave and one was a woman who had taken leave to care for a family member and later bereavement leave.
The plaintiffs argue that Meta’s “algorithmically assisted selection process, by systematically recording absences as reduced employment, falls more heavily on women than men” because women take maternity and care leave equally.
