Twitter is involved in yet another legal spat after receiving a second complaint this month that asserts the business owes former employees at least $500 million in severance pay. Chris Woodfield, a former senior programmer at Twitter, filed the lawsuit as a proposed class action and claims that the social media behemoth specifically targeted older staff for layoffs, which distinguishes this case from others.
A brief about another complaint against Twitter claims that it owes former employees $500 million in severance pay
Woodfield, a former employee of Twitter in Seattle, asserts that the business frequently informed staff that, in the case of a layoff, they would receive two months’ income and other benefits.He and many other employees, however, have not yet received the promised payment. Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the business in October of the previous year, which led to the firing of more than half of the workers, Twitter launched the mass layoffs as a cost-cutting measure.
It’s interesting how unconventional Twitter’s responses to questions about these lawsuits have been. The company resorted to an automated response that contained only a poop emoji because it lacked a media relations department to issue a formal statement. Twitter has argued in the past that all laid-off workers received full compensation.
A comparable action, filed last week in a federal court in California, demanded more than $500 million in severance payments for former Twitter workers. This complaint alleges that by disregarding the provisions of a severance plan negotiated before Musk’s takeover, the corporation violated federal restrictions on employee benefit programs.
Twitter is being sued by Woodfield on grounds of contract breach and fraud. Furthermore, he claims that he was singled out for layoff because he was a “older worker,” despite the fact that the complaint makes no mention of his age.
In accordance with the complaint, Woodfield agreed to arbitrate any legal disputes relating to her employment, and Twitter was obligated to pay the initial costs associated with each case because of this agreement. Woodfield claims he filed an arbitration claim against Twitter earlier this year, but the corporation allegedly refused to pay the required fee, thereby stalling the process. This assertion is consistent with the opinions voiced by hundreds of ex-employees in a different legal situation earlier this year, where Twitter claimed that these people had not turned in the necessary paperwork.
In addition to these cases over severance pay, Twitter has been the target of numerous additional legal claims alleging gender and disability discrimination, failure to give early notice of layoffs, and failing to pay promised bonuses to remaining employees. The business has persistently refuted these allegations.
