Meta has denied allegations that artificial intelligence was used to make discriminatory layoff decisions after an alliance of 26 current and former employees sued the social media giant over its latest round of job cuts.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that the company's AI-assisted evaluation process unfairly disadvantaged employees on protected medical and family leave. The plaintiffs, who were among the nearly 10% of Meta's workforce laid off in May, are seeking an independent audit of the process while pursuing their claims through arbitration, reported CNBC.
Employees Allege AI Penalised Workers on Protected Leave
According to the complaint, Meta relied on a "constellation of internal artificial-intelligence systems" to help identify employees for layoffs. The workers allege that these systems failed to account for approved medical and family leave, resulting in lower performance-related metrics for affected employees, according to the report.
“Those tools draw on inputs—performance ratings, calibration scores, productivity and output metrics, ‘AI-native' ratings, and AI-token consumption—that, by design, cannot be accumulated by an employee who is on protected medical or family leave, or whose output is reduced by a disability,” the lawyers wrote in the filing, as per the report.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday, 14 July, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Attorneys representing the employees said that these layoffs affected nearly 10% of Meta's workforce. The plaintiffs are pursuing their claims individually through arbitration while seeking court intervention to preserve their employment status.
The lawsuit further alleges that the social media giant has used metrics such as token consumption that impacted certain employees.
Also Read: Fired By Algorithm? Lawsuit Claims Meta Used AI To Lay Off Workers With Medical Conditions
Meta Rejects Allegations
Meta has denied the allegations, maintaining that artificial intelligence did not make workforce decisions.
"The claims lack merit and are not based on facts," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
Further stating, "Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI."
The plaintiffs have asked the court to grant a preliminary injunction that would maintain the status quo of their employment. Meanwhile, an independent audit of Meta's AI-assisted layoff process is being conducted, added the report.
Part of Wider AI Bias Debate
The lawsuit comes amid growing scrutiny of artificial intelligence in workplace decision-making. It follows a recent ruling in California where software company Workday was alleged to have used AI-powered hiring tools, stating that the process violated state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
However, like Meta, Workday also denied those allegations, saying its technology evaluates only job qualifications and is regularly tested to ensure it does not disadvantage protected groups.
“Our technology looks only at job qualifications, not protected traits like race, age, or disability,” Workday said in the statement. “We rigorously test our products as part of our Responsible AI program to confirm our tools do not harm protected groups,” the company said.
Also Read: AI-Led Job Cuts: How To Build A Financial Safety Net Before It Gets Too Late
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