A lawsuit filed in federal court accuses Meta Platforms of using AI-powered software to target specific staff for mass layoffs, disproportionately affecting people with disabilities and those who took sick leave. The plaintiffs, 26 employees who filed the lawsuit anonymously, claim that Meta relied on factors such as productivity and monitored workers' activity to decide which employees to dismiss.
The lawsuit alleges that Meta used internal AI-assisted systems to score and rank employees, including 'Metamate', a large language model assistant, and an employee-trained 'second brain' that tracked workers' communications and documents. The plaintiffs argue that this system penalized employees for exercising their legal rights to protected leaves, such as maternity leave or sick leave.
One of the plaintiffs, a scientist, claims she was on an approved pre-natal maternity leave when she was notified of her layoff, just two days before giving birth. Another plaintiff, an engineer, alleges he received a low ranking due to the sick leave he took for an injury. The plaintiffs were told in May that their jobs would be cut starting from July 22 and are asking the court to block Meta from completing the layoffs while they pursue their claims.
Meta's employee agreements require workers to deal with workplace disputes individually, but the employees say this does not apply to their request for temporary relief. The plaintiffs accuse Meta of violating federal and state laws banning discrimination or retaliation against workers who have disabilities, take medical leave, or are pregnant.
The lawsuit claims that Meta failed to test its AI systems for bias in violation of recently adopted California and New York City laws. The plaintiffs argue that the result was that employees who took protected leaves were disproportionately selected for layoff, based on scoring that not only failed to account for their protected leaves but also penalized them for exercising their legal rights.
A Meta spokesperson stated that the claims 'lack merit and are not based on fact,' adding that workforce management and organizational decisions were made by people, not AI. This lawsuit is thought to be the first to challenge the alleged use of AI in conducting layoffs.
Meta laid off around 10% of its global workforce in May, affecting nearly 8,000 employees. The changes come as Meta increases its AI investments and makes AI the focus of its product offerings and internal approach to work. The legal implications of using AI to make key decisions in the workplace have attracted increasing scrutiny over fears surrounding privacy and trust.
