Twenty-six former employees of Meta Platforms have filed a novel lawsuit accusing the tech giant of using AI-powered software to disproportionately target workers with disabilities or those who took medical leave during recent mass layoffs.
According to a reuters report The lawsuit, filed late Monday in the Oakland, California federal court, alleges that the company relied on factors such as productivity metrics and AI token usage when slashing thousands of jobs earlier this year. The plaintiffs argue that this approach disadvantaged individuals who missed work due to medical conditions or family caregiving responsibilities.
The plaintiffs were notified in May that their jobs would be eliminated starting July 22. They are now seeking a preliminary ruling from the court to block Meta from completing the layoffs while they pursue their claims through private arbitration. According to the workers, Meta’s employment agreements mandate individual arbitration for workplace disputes but do not restrict requests for temporary court relief.
Meta has strongly rejected the allegations. A company spokesperson stated on Tuesday that the claims lack merit, adding that workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI.
The lawsuit appears to be the first of its kind against a major American corporation challenging the alleged use of artificial intelligence in execution of layoffs.
The legal action follows Meta’s decision in May to lay off 10 per cent of its global workforce, affecting nearly 8,000 people. While more cuts were initially anticipated later this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since stated that no further company-wide layoffs are expected this year.
The restructuring comes amid a far-reaching organizational overhaul as Meta increases its investments in artificial intelligence and integrates AI agents into its products and internal operations.
Filed anonymously, the lawsuit accuses Meta of violating federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination or retaliation against workers with disabilities, those on medical leave, or pregnant employees. The plaintiffs also claim Meta failed to test its AI systems for bias, violating recently adopted laws in California and New York City.
The 26 plaintiffs reside across six states, including California and New York, as well as the District of Columbia.
According to the complaint, Meta utilized several internal AI-assisted systems to score and rank employees on a termination list. These included “Metamate,” a large language model assistant, and an employee-trained “second brain” that tracked worker communications and documents. The lawsuit further alleges that productivity scores were generated by scanning keystrokes, screen content, emails, and browser history.
