On Tuesday, Twitter faced a second lawsuit this month, alleging that the company owes at least $500 million, approximately Rs. 4,105 crore, in severance pay to former employees. This lawsuit adds to a growing list of legal disputes following Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform.
Former senior engineer Chris Woodfield has filed a proposed class action suit in federal court in Delaware, claiming that Twitter specifically targeted older employees for layoffs, distinguishing it from other ongoing cases.
Woodfield, who was based in Seattle, asserts that the company consistently communicated to staff that laid-off workers would receive two months’ salary along with other compensatory payouts. However, he and other impacted employees report that they have yet to receive these payments.
Since Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October, the company has implemented substantial staff reductions, laying off more than half of its workforce in an effort to cut costs.
The company currently lacks a media relations department and provided an automated response containing a poop emoji when approached for comments via email. In previous legal matters, Twitter has claimed that all laid-off workers were compensated as promised.
In a similar case filed last week in California, Twitter is accused of owing over $500 million in severance payments to its former employees. Twitter has not yet responded to this particular lawsuit, which alleges violations of federal regulations governing employee benefit plans due to not adhering to the severance terms established prior to Musk’s arrival.
Woodfield’s lawsuit includes allegations of breach of contract and fraud, indicating that he believes he was laid off because of his status as an “older worker,” although the specifics regarding his age are not mentioned in the complaint.
According to the lawsuit, Woodfield had previously signed an agreement mandating arbitration for work-related legal disputes, which requires Twitter to cover initial fees for the arbitration process. He reports that he initiated such arbitration earlier this year but claims Twitter refused to pay the necessary fees, effectively hindering the progress of his case. This assertion mirrors complaints made by numerous employees in a separate legal action earlier in the year, to which Twitter countered by stating that the employees failed to complete the required documentation.
In addition to this lawsuit, Twitter has been accused in various other legal filings of disproportionately affecting women and workers with disabilities during layoffs, neglecting to provide advance warning of terminations, and failing to issue promised bonuses to remaining employees. The company has consistently denied these allegations.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
