Twitter was accused of violating the law during mass layoffs

The social media giant Twitter (TWTR.MX) faced a lawsuit on Tuesday accusing it of illegally laying off contract workers without notice following Elon Musk's acquisition of the company last year, the latest action stemming from its massive job cuts over the past year.

‍

It is claimed in the proposed class action, which has been filed in San Francisco federal court, that Twitter in November laid off numerous employees employed by staffing firm TEKsystems Inc without providing the 60 days' advance notice required by U.S. and California law.

‍

Currently, Twitter is facing five other lawsuits in the same court alleging that it violated those laws, targeted female workers for layoffs, and discriminated against employees with disabilities in the workplace. The company has denied any wrongdoing on its part.

‍

There were roughly 3,700 employees laid off by Twitter in early November, or roughly half of the company's workforce. Musk, who paid $44 billion to acquire Twitter, said the layoffs were part of a cost-cutting effort. There were hundreds of other resignations that followed.

‍

Twitter and the Maryland-based company TEKsystems, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‍

While Elon Musk appears to believe that skipping out on these obligations will save the company money, Shannon Liss-Riordan, who is the plaintiff's attorney in all of the lawsuits, stated in an email: "We hope to show him that not meeting his responsibilities may be a lot more costly."

‍

More than 1,700 former Twitter employees and contractors who signed agreements to arbitrate legal disputes, according to Liss-Riordan, have filed complaints in private arbitration on their behalf. Employees at TEKsystems, according to her, did not sign arbitration agreements.

‍

Moreover, Liss-Riordan represents employees who have filed grievances against Twitter with a U.S. labor board, alleging that they were fired for making negative remarks about the business, seeking to organize a strike and other actions covered by federal labor law.

‍

There has been no response from Twitter regarding these claims.