House labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan and the former Twitter staffer stood in federal court in San Francisco on Thursday with a message to Elon Musk: They won’t back down.
“The world’s richest man is not above the law,” said Les Riordan, whose team is representing clients in four different class-action lawsuits against Twitter.
Since Musk gained control of the social media giant in October, he has pursued his announced plans to Mass layoffs A comprehensive overhaul of the company. Even as managers and staff resigned, he issued an ultimatum: stick to a new, “tough” Twitter 2.0 where employees are expected to work long hours, or leave after three months of service.
Lawsuits came instantly.
With questions lingering about Musk’s next move, the former employees are looking through their attorneys for every possible avenue to get the benefits they believe they deserve in the wake of the troubled takeover. But they may face a long way to go before they see any results – in part because many remain uncertain about how to proceed.
It was the first case made one day Before the first round of mass layoffs on Twitter on November 4 with Emmanuelle Cornet as one of the lead plaintiffs. Cornette was the first employee to be fired from Twitter and also filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board about suspected unfair labor practices. The case alleges that Cornet was part of the layoffs and did not receive proper notice under the federal and state Workers Retraining Notice and Amendment Act or severance pay.
The latest case was filed late Wednesday, alleging that the company disproportionately targeted women for layoffs. The complaint cited a report that 57% of female employees and 47% of male employees were laid off on November 4, which was found to be statistically significant.
Liss-Riordan is also representing Dmitry Borodenko, the lead plaintiff in a case against the company alleging discrimination against employees with disabilities. Borodenko, a cancer survivor exposed to COVID-19, said he was fired after refusing to return to the office.
Although legal challenges have begun, much hinges on two major court decisions that will determine which course of litigation the workers can take.
First, the court is expected to rule early next week on an emergency motion Les-Riordan made on November 9 in the Cornet case. Although the laid-off employees have not yet received formal termination agreements from the company, Twitter has indicated that it will sign employees to a release document to receive their termination. Lys-Riordan said signing the document would prevent the former employees from taking legal action.
The emergency motion will prevent Twitter from pursuing these releases without first notifying employees of the pending class action and legal counsel contact information. A similar request was made in the case against Tesla automaker required To notify laid-off employees of pending lawsuits.
The second decision, which is set for a hearing in January, focuses on arbitration agreements that most of the Twitter employees signed as terms of employment.
Under this provision, employees who have legal claims against Twitter must pursue individual arbitration, barring them from participating in or benefiting from any class action lawsuit against the company. Twitter has filed a motion to enforce this agreement, which Liss-Riordan disputes.
Liss-Riordan said her team stands ready to help bring hundreds of arbitration cases against the company if the court chooses to enforce the arbitration agreement.
“We will show you one by one and then upload hundreds or even thousands of individual cases,” she said.
Liss-Riordan has launched similar class arbitration campaigns against companies like IBM, which also Workers are required to sign arbitration agreements And she implemented it successfully.
Some of the former Twitter workers have already taken over way of arbitration. Former employee Helen Saggy Lee sued with the help of her attorney, Lisa Bloom, on the grounds that the terms of Musk’s deal to buy Twitter required him to offer a compensation and benefits package “no less favorable” than the one promised to her former leadership for at least a year.
The pre-acquisition package offered at least two months of severance pay plus prorated performance bonuses, extended visa support, money for continued healthcare and cash value of shares that will vest within three months, according to laid-off employees as well as company documents reviewed by The Times. Times.
Two of Les-Riordan’s class-action lawsuits are based on similar arguments. Although the employees were offered two months’ pay during the “non-working” period to comply with the federal WARN law, which requires 60 days’ notice of mass layoffs, Liss-Riordan argued that such compensation should not count toward the actual firing promised to the employees.
Twitter, which no longer has an official communications team, could not be reached for comment.
Although some are preparing for extended legal battles, not everyone is ready to pursue legal action just yet. A number of former Twitter employees are still biding their time while they consult with lawyers and weigh their options.
An engineering manager who was part of the Nov. 4 layoffs said some are concerned that they are still adhering to employee guidelines because they are still in a non-working period and tied to Twitter while not actually working for the company.
“So we’re supposed to act like employees right now even though we’re not working,” he said. “The last thing I want to get is fired for cause.”
The employee said he was most concerned about the shares’ next maturity date, which is February 1. The terms of the merger agreement should protect the equity to be done within three months, which for many employees on the technical side could be worth much more than a month’s salary.
“For me, that would be the main reason I would consider joining a lawsuit – if it was not delivered as promised,” he said.
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