A federal judge in California has dismissed two proposed class action lawsuits filed against Twitter Inc. by former employees accusing the social media giant of sex discrimination and disability bias. However, the plaintiffs in both cases have been given three weeks to file amended lawsuits with additional details supporting their claims.
The dismissed sex discrimination lawsuit, filed in December, alleged that Twitter targeted female employees for layoffs after being acquired by Elon Musk last year, with 57% of female workers being laid off compared to 47% of male workers. The lawsuit also claimed that 63% of women in engineering roles lost their jobs, compared to 48% of men.
The disability bias case was filed by a former engineering manager who claimed that Twitter fired him when he refused to stop working remotely after being diagnosed with cancer. The plaintiff alleged that Twitter required employees to report to the office and put in long hours working at high intensity after the layoffs in November.
However, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar dismissed both cases, citing a lack of basic information in the plaintiffs’ complaints. He said that the plaintiffs did not provide key details, such as their positions with Twitter and the identity of managers who decided which workers would be laid off. Additionally, Tigar ruled that Musk’s allegedly sexist remarks, which were cited by the plaintiffs, were irrelevant because they were made long before he acquired Twitter.
Despite the dismissals, the plaintiffs in both cases plan to file revised complaints with new facts. Twitter has denied wrongdoing in all of the cases stemming from the layoffs, including allegations that the company failed to pay promised severance.
The outcome of these lawsuits underscores the importance of providing sufficient details and evidence to support discrimination claims. While the plaintiffs have been given the opportunity to file amended complaints, they will need to strengthen their arguments to overcome the high bar for proving discrimination in court.
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