Twitter was accused Tuesday by 100 former employees of various wrongdoings stemming from Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, including the targeted firing of women and failure to pay promised severance pay.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney for the workers, said she has filed 100 arbitration claims against Twitter, making claims similar to four class-action lawsuits pending in a California federal court.
The workers have all signed agreements to take legal disputes against the company to arbitration rather than court, Liss-Riordan said, meaning they will likely be barred from participating in the class action lawsuits.
Twitter At the beginning of November, around 3,700 employees were laid off as part of a cost-cutting measure muskwhich paid US$44 billion (approximately Rs.3,37,465 crore) to acquire the social media platform, and hundreds more subsequently resigned.
The arbitration claims accuse Twitter of gender discrimination, breach of contract and unlawful termination of employees who were on sick or maternity leave.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Liss-Riordan said her firm has spoken to hundreds of other former Twitter employees and intends to pursue additional legal claims in arbitration on her behalf.
“Twitter’s behavior since Musk’s acquisition is incredibly outrageous and we will pursue all avenues to protect workers and deprive Twitter of compensation to which they are entitled,” she said.
The pending class-action lawsuits allege that Twitter fired employees and contractors without the 60-day notice required by law, disproportionately fired women, and coerced workers with disabilities by refusing to allow remote work.
Twitter is also facing at least three complaints filed with a US labor agency alleging that workers were fired for criticizing the company, attempting to organize a strike, and other conduct protected by federal labor laws .
The company has denied violating the advance notice law and has not yet responded to the other lawsuits.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
