Fired Twitter workers can’t pursue class action lawsuit against Elon Musk for firing them with insufficient notice, judge rules, and must pursue cases against him individually
- Court rules five fired Twitter workers must sue social media firm individually
- Company is facing claims of discrimination after Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover
- District Judge James Donato cited agreements workers had signed in his judgment
Twitter employees hoping to sue the firm for firing them without notice have been told they cannot bring a class action.
In a court ruling on Friday, the social media company, which is also facing allegations of sex and disability discrimination, won its bid to force five ex-workers to pursue their claims individually.
US District Judge James Donato cited agreements the employees had signed with the company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, in his reasoning for the judgment.
Twitter owner Elon Musk wins bid to force five ex-employees to pursue their claims individually rather than as class action
Twitter was plunged into hot water in early November after it laid off around 3,700 employees as part of a cost-cutting measure.
Hundreds more subsequently resigned.
In December the firm was also accused by dozens of former employees of several legal violations stemming from Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the company.
These included targeting women for layoffs and failing to pay promised severance packages.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, who represents the plaintiffs, said on Monday that she had already filed 300 demands for arbitration on behalf of former Twitter employees.
She added she was likely to file hundreds more.
Musk, 51, purchased Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion and installed himself as CEO immediately
Twitter is also facing at least three complaints filed with a U.S. labor board claiming workers were fired for criticizing the company, attempting to organize a strike, and other conduct protected by federal labor law.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Last year, San Francisco judge Donato ruled that Twitter must notify the thousands of workers who were laid off after its acquisition by Musk following a proposed class action accusing the company of failing to give adequate notice before terminating them.
Twitter is headquartered in San Francisco, California
He said that before asking workers to sign severance agreements waiving their ability to sue the company, Twitter must give them ‘a succinct and plainly worded notice’.
Last week it was revealed Elon Musk had broken the world record for amassing the largest losses to his personal fortune in history.
The entrepreneur wiped out $165 billion off his wealth between November 2021 and December 2022, according to the Guinness World Records.
The share value in Musk’s electric car firm Tesla crashed by around 65 per cent after he bought Twitter last year, a move that spooked investors.
US District Judge James Donato cited agreements the employees had signed with the company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, in his reasoning for the judgment
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