Meta Sued Over AI Use in Layoffs Targeting Disabled Workers

Meta Platforms is facing a discrimination lawsuit filed on Monday by current and former employees who allege the company utilized artificial intelligence systems to identify individuals with disabilities or those on medical or family leave for its recent mass layoffs. The lawsuit, filed in Oakland, California federal court, claims Meta bypassed managerial judgment in favor of a "constellation of internal artificial-intelligence systems" to generate the termination list. These systems reportedly included "Metamate," employee-trained "second-brain" agents, keystroke data, AI token-usage dashboards, and performance rankings. The plaintiffs contend that these AI-driven processes disadvantaged employees who had taken time off for medical reasons or family care, effectively penalizing them for exercising their legal rights.

The lawsuit asserts that employees who took protected leaves were disproportionately selected for layoff based on scoring mechanisms that failed to account for their absences and, in some cases, actively penalized them. One plaintiff, according to the suit, was selected for layoff while on approved pre-birth leave. Another plaintiff reported that their manager discouraged them from taking medical leave, warning of potential termination or layoff nomination, and dismissed concerns about leave-protection laws by stating, "this is Meta" and "if the company wants something they make it happen."

Multiple plaintiffs also claimed that their AI-usage dashboard scores declined during their leave periods because the system interpreted these absences as disengagement. The lawsuit, which includes 26 plaintiffs from various states including California, Illinois, Washington, New York, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, and Florida, seeks a preliminary ruling to halt the ongoing layoffs and prevent Meta from using existing federal and state laws that include class action waivers in its employment contracts.