Meta used AI workplace tools to target employees on medical leave, lawsuit alleges
Twenty-six employees sued Meta, saying it used AI systems to help select workers for layoffs.The lawsuit says AI usage metrics penalized workers who took medical, parental, or disability leave.A Meta spokesperson said that the "claims lack merit and are not based on facts."Meta used AI-powered workplace systems to penalize employees for taking medical and parental leave and then selected them for layoffs, according to allegations in a new lawsuit.The complaint, filed by 26 current and former workers on Monday in federal court in Northern California, alleges that Meta relied on AI-assisted tools and employee-monitoring data to score and rank workers before cutting about 8,000 jobs in May.The plaintiffs allege that the process relied on metrics such as work output, software development activity, and AI tool usage that employees could not accrue while on protected leave. By failing to adjust those measurements for time away, the suit alleges, Meta effectively recorded medical leave, maternity leave, and disability-related reductions in output as underperformance."Meta did not assemble the termination list through the considered judgment of managers who knew the work," the complaint says.
Reported by 2 outlets — Business Insider, The Verge. See all sources ↓
Twenty-six employees sued Meta, saying it used AI systems to help select workers for layoffs.The lawsuit says AI usage metrics penalized workers who took medical, parental, or disability leave.A Meta spokesperson said that the "claims lack merit and are not based on facts."Meta used AI-powered workplace systems to penalize employees for taking medical and parental leave and then selected them for layoffs, according to allegations in a new lawsuit.The complaint, filed by 26 current and former workers on Monday in federal court in Northern California, alleges that Meta relied on AI-assisted tools and employee-monitoring data to score and rank workers before cutting about 8,000 jobs in May.The plaintiffs allege that the process relied on metrics such as work output, software development activity, and AI tool usage that employees could not accrue while on protected leave. By failing to adjust those measurements for time away, the suit alleges, Meta effectively recorded medical leave, maternity leave, and disability-related reductions in output as underperformance."Meta did not assemble the termination list through the considered judgment of managers who knew the work," the complaint says. Instead, the employees allege, the company relied on systems including its internal AI chatbot, Metamate; AI usage dashboards; employee-trained "second-brain" agents designed to reproduce parts of a worker's output; activity-monitoring data; and AI-assisted performance and calibration tools. They allege that Meta ranked employees using internal AI-adoption categories such as "AI Native," "AI First," and "AI Enabled," and that employees' scores declined when they were away from work.
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Why it matters
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- What's the story?
- Twenty-six employees sued Meta, saying it used AI systems to help select workers for layoffs.The lawsuit says AI usage metrics penalized workers who took medical, parental, or disability leave.A Meta spokesperson said that the "claims lack merit and are not based on facts."Meta used AI-powered workplace systems to penalize employees for taking medical and parental leave and then selected them for layoffs, according to allegations in a new lawsuit.The complaint, filed by 26 current and former workers on Monday in federal court in Northern California, alleges that Meta relied on AI-assisted tools and employee-monitoring data to score and rank workers before cutting about 8,000 jobs in May.The plaintiffs allege that the process relied on metrics such as work output, software development activity, and AI tool usage that employees could not accrue while on protected leave. By failing to adjust those measurements for time away, the suit alleges, Meta effectively recorded medical leave, maternity leave, and disability-related reductions in output as underperformance."Meta did not assemble the termination list through the considered judgment of managers who knew the work," the complaint says.
- How widely is it covered?
- 2 outlets, average source rating 6.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 12m ago.
How outlets are framing the same story
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- Coverage card1 outlet1CoverageScouting report
Meta used AI workplace tools to target employees on medical leave, lawsuit alleges
Sources1TypeCoverageBusiness Insider
- Coverage card1 outlet2CoverageScouting report
Meta accused of using biased AI targeting for mass layoffs
Sources1TypeCoverageThe Verge