META SUED BY WORKERS OVER AI LAYOFF SELECTION

Twenty-six employees have filed a lawsuit against Meta, claiming the company used artificial intelligence systems to identify workers for redundancy after they took maternity leave, disability leave or requested accommodations. The suit was filed in federal court in California's northern district on Monday. Meta reduced its workforce by approximately 8,000 employees earlier this year, according to the complaint. The workers allege that Meta employed multiple internal AI systems, including performance ratings and keystroke and activity-monitoring tools, to select staff for termination.

The 71-page complaint states that Meta did not rely on managerial judgment to compile the redundancy list, but instead used AI to score, rank and select employees for removal. The plaintiffs allege that the company's AI systems gathered performance, productivity and other data on employees, but that such inputs were absent when workers took medical or family leave. The lawsuit seeks a preliminary court ruling to halt finalisation of the layoffs whilst the case proceeds. The workers are also seeking reinstatement, back pay, lost equity, benefits and additional damages.

Workplace AI decision-making has become an increasingly contested issue as employees raise concerns about bias, privacy and trust in automated systems. Multiple jurisdictions have introduced new protections: California, Colorado and Illinois have all passed laws or regulations within the past two years designed to shield workers from AI-related bias and automated decision systems. The lawsuit positions Meta's alleged practices within this broader regulatory landscape, as authorities examine the lawfulness of such tools in employment decisions.