The Memo: Twitter Class Action

Taiwo Oshodi - 21st November 2022

Under new ownership, Twitter is already birthing a suite of controversies, not least regarding the move to remove almost half of their workforce. Former employees report they were not given enough notice under US federal law of their termination, and a class action lawsuit has been filed in San Francisco. The suit outlines Twitter’s obligation to follow both the federal and California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).

The class action complaint outlines that the first few employees to be let go were terminated without the 60-day notice period required under federal and state law. It also highlights that Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, previously engaged in mass layoffs without notice with Tesla, where As such, future breaches in the face of further cutbacks are a strong possibility. Shannon Liss-Riordan, representative of the claimants, anticipates Twitter sending out separation agreements to coax fired employees into agreements that could provide them less compensation than they would otherwise receive under those included in their contracts.

Compounding on the company’s restructuring efforts, Musk also recently sent out an email to staff stating they will be scrapping remote working, despite Twitter having promised to allow employees to work from homesince early 2020. This may result in adding to the significance of the class action; Liss-Riordan adds that employees who stayed on the basis of this promise could also join the class action.

The Twitter class action is shaping up to be a case study worth following for those interested in employment law, and those with a keen eye for corporate and bankruptcy matters should similarly keep them peeled…