Twenty-six current and former Meta employees filed a lawsuit Monday in the United States Northern District Court of California, alleging the company used artificial intelligence in its May layoff round in a way that discriminated against workers on protected leave. The plaintiffs claim Meta's AI systems relied on metrics like performance ratings and token consumption that could not be accumulated by employees on medical or family leave, violating protected-leave laws and discrimination acts related to pregnancies and disabilities. The lawsuit reflects growing concerns about AI's impact on jobs and workers with disabilities, coming nearly a month after a federal judge ruled against Workday in a separate case involving AI-powered job screening tools.
Plaintiffs Allege AI Metrics Disadvantaged Employees on Protected Leave
Attorneys representing the 26 unnamed workers stated in a legal complaint that the plaintiffs were among the 10% of Meta's workforce cut in the company's May layoff round. The plaintiffs allege that Meta's "constellation of internal artificial-intelligence systems" failed to take approved absences into account when determining which employees to cut. According to the filing, these tools draw on inputs including performance ratings, calibration scores, productivity and output metrics, "AI-native" ratings, and AI-token consumption that cannot be accumulated by an employee who is on protected medical or family leave, or whose output is reduced by a disability. The lawsuit accuses Meta of using metrics like token consumption, which has become a proxy for general AI usage, in a way that targeted certain employees whose metrics declined while on leave.
Meta Denies Claims, States Decisions Made by People
A Meta spokesperson told CNBC that the "claims lack merit and are not based on facts." The spokesperson stated that "workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI." The plaintiffs are asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction maintaining the status quo of their employment at Meta, pending an independent audit of the algorithmically assisted selection process and resolution of the merits of their claims in arbitration.
Lawsuit Follows Federal Ruling Against Workday in AI Hiring Case
The lawsuit comes nearly a month after a federal judge in California ruled against tech firm Workday in a separate employee-related lawsuit involving the use of AI for hiring decisions. In that case, the judge ruled that Workday must face claims about the company's use of AI-powered job screening services that allegedly violated state and federal laws pertaining to employee discrimination. Workday denied the allegations and said in a statement at the time that the AI recruiting software doesn't conduct hiring decisions "in California or anywhere else," adding that "our technology looks only at job qualifications, not protected traits like race, age, or disability."
FAQ
What did Meta employees allege in the lawsuit filed Monday?
Twenty-six current and former Meta employees alleged in a lawsuit filed Monday in the United States Northern District Court of California that the company used artificial intelligence in its May layoff round in a way that discriminated against workers on protected leave, violating protected-leave laws and discrimination acts related to pregnancies and disabilities.
How did Meta respond to the discrimination allegations?
A Meta spokesperson told CNBC that the claims lack merit and are not based on facts, stating that workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI.
What are the plaintiffs requesting from the court?
The plaintiffs are asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction maintaining the status quo of their employment at Meta, pending an independent audit of the algorithmically assisted selection process and resolution of the merits of their claims in arbitration.
