A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that roughly 150 older workers, laid off by the social media platform X after its takeover by Elon Musk, can proceed with a class-action age discrimination case that could cost the company tens of millions of dollars in damages.
In a groundbreaking ruling on Tuesday, United States District Judge Susan Illston sided with the class action filed by X’s, formerly Twitter's former communications employee John Zeman.
Zeman claimed the company disproportionately laid off employees in older age brackets in the November 4, 2022 mass cutback and was one of thousands laid off. As alleged in his complaint, X laid off 60% of employees over age 50, compared to 54% under age 50. For employees over age 60, the number was almost 75%.
In an order from Judge Illston, the case presents one of the most common questions, whether the mass layoff had a disparate impact on older workers. "Plaintiff has shown beyond mere speculation that Twitter may have discriminated against older employees, constituting a single decision that affected all members of the proposed class," Illston noted.
The ruling allows Zeman's attorneys to notify potential class members of the lawsuit, paving the way for others to join the suit. X has denied the allegations, arguing the layoffs were justified and that its entire communications department, where Zeman worked, was axed regardless of age.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney representing Zeman and others, hailed the ruling as a necessary step toward attempting to right the alleged workplace discrimination.
It's one in a spate of class-actions against the company, including class-action allegations of sex and disability bias and disputes over severance pay. X also faces lawsuits over claims that at least US$500 million in severance owed to former employees is owed, including one such case that was dismissed last month.
The unraveling lawsuits hold importance through the courts, the tech industry watches with great interest to see the way these lawsuits may shape corporate practices and set a standard of employment law.
In August, two related class actions accusing X of gender and disability discrimination were dismissed, though plaintiffs were allowed to amend.
It has been reported in connection with the fact that Musk's Starlink is also facing legal obstacles in Brazil. The Supreme Court has banned X, previously Twitter, throughout the nation due to its non-compliance with laws on the protection of personal data backed by President Lula da Silva. That ban has factored into Starlink agreeing to block access to X in Brazil, adding more questions to Musk's projects. Read more