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REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 30 (Reuters) - A California federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing X, the social media service formerly called Twitter, of disproportionately laying off older workers when Elon Musk acquired the company last year. Zeman, for example, claims X laid off 60% of workers who were 50 or older and nearly three-quarters of those who were over 60, compared with 54% of employees younger than 50. The judge dismissed a claim that X intentionally targeted older workers for layoffs, but gave Zeman a month to file an amended lawsuit fleshing out that claim. The lawsuit is one of about a dozen X is facing stemming from Musk's decision to lay off about half of Twitter's workforce beginning last November. Liss-Riordan also represents about 2,000 former Twitter employees who have filed similar legal claims against the company in arbitration.

Persons: Porte, Gonzalo Fuentes, X, Elon Musk, Susan Illston, John Zeman, Zeman, Illston, Shannon Liss, Riordan, Zeman's, Liss, Daniel Wiessner, Andrea Ricci Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Twitter, Elon, U.S, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, California, Albany , New York

☆ Elon Musk's X is hit with 2,200 arbitration claims from former Twitter employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

X is facing more than 2,200 arbitration cases involving ex-employees, a new court filing said. Since Elon Musk's Twitter takeover, the company also has been hit with lawsuits from former staff. X could be on the hook for at least $3.5 million in fees for the arbitration cases, CNBC reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementElon Musk's social media company formerly known as Twitter has been hit with more than 2,200 arbitration cases from former employees, according to a recent court filing. X, formerly known as Twitter, was hit with lawsuits from former employees after Musk cut the company's workforce in half.

Persons: Elon, It's, Elon Musk, Twitter, Shannon Liss, Riordan, Chris Woodfield, X, Tesla Organizations: Twitter, CNBC, Morning, X Locations: —, Delaware

Companies Twitter Inc FollowJune 21 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc is facing a lawsuit claiming it failed to pay workers millions of dollars in promised bonuses, adding to a pile of court cases filed since Elon Musk acquired the social media company. Schobinger says that before and after Musk purchased Twitter last year, the company promised employees that they would receive 50% of their target bonuses for 2022. But those payments never materialized, according to the lawsuit, which accuses Twitter of breach of contract. Twitter in those cases is accused of failing to pay promised severance and targeting female employees and workers with disabilities for layoffs, among other claims. Many landlords, vendors and consultants have also sued Twitter over unpaid bills, some of which Musk inherited when he bought the company.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Schobinger, Schobinger, Musk, Shannon Liss, Riordan, Parag Agrawal, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Conor Humphries Organizations: Twitter, Elon, X Corp, Thomson Locations: San Francisco federal, Delaware, Albany , New York

☆ Former and current employees sue Twitter, accusing execs of failing to pay 'tens of millions of dollars' in bonuses
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Executives repeatedly promised employees the bonuses would be paid out, the suit alleged. This time the lawsuit is a class-action filed by Mark Schobinger on behalf of himself and other current and former Twitter employees. The lawsuit alleged employees were not paid a proportion of their 2022 bonuses, despite repeated promises from top executives. In a statement shared with AP an attorney for the plaintiffs, Shannon Liss-Riordan said the bonuses Twitter owed amounted to "tens of millions of dollars." One former executive said, however, that he and other Twitter employees had been harassed over the release of the files.

Persons: Mark Schobinger, Ned Segal, Schobinger, Elon Musk, Shannon Liss, Riordan, Musk Organizations: Twitter, Elon, AP

☆ Twitter accused of failing to pay millions in employee bonuses after Musk takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The suit is seeking class action status for former and current Twitter employees who did not receive their 2022 bonus. In the months leading up to Musk completing his acquisition of Twitter, company executives repeatedly promised employees that 2022 bonuses would be paid out at 50% of the target, according to the complaint. Despite the promises, however, Twitter has yet to pay out bonuses, the lawsuit says. Liss-Riordan previously brought multiple proposed class action suits against Twitter, including on behalf of female employees and disabled employees. Twitter has denied the breach of contract allegations in the lawsuit brought by former employees about remote work and severance.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Schobinger, ” Shannon Liss, Riordan, Musk, Schobinger, Twitter’s, Musk’s Organizations: CNN, Twitter, Liss Locations: San Francisco federal, Schobinger

☆ A judge threw out a lawsuit from laid-off Twitter staffers which claimed Elon Musk's cuts unfairly targeted women
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It said "unreasonable" working hours unfairly affected women and cited past apparently-sexist statements from Elon Musk. Two former employees first filed the suit last December, a month after Elon Musk laid off half the company's staff. It also cited Musk's "unreasonable" demands Twitter staff work 84-hours a week, and the end of the work from home policy. "The ultimate decision-maker in these layoffs, Elon Musk, has a history of making hostile and demeaning comments about women," Liss-Riodan told the news outlet. On Monday, Insider's Kali Hays reported that Twitter staff are growing increasingly frustrated over a drastic cut to its parental leave policy.

But Gilliam gave Borodaenko, who lives in Scotts Valley, California, three weeks to file an amended lawsuit further detailing his claims in the lawsuit, proposed as a class action. Borodaenko, a cancer survivor, claims that Twitter fired him in November when he refused to stop working remotely. The lawsuit is one of several that Twitter is facing stemming from Musk's decision to lay off about half of the company's workforce. Twitter has denied wrongdoing in those cases, including ones claiming that female employees were targeted for layoffs and that the company failed to pay promised severance. Liss-Riordan also represents nearly 2,000 former Twitter employees who have filed legal claims against the company in arbitration.

☆ Should you sign that severance package? Here are 5 things to consider first.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Some employees being laid off by Big Tech companies can expect generous severance packages. Employees should consider their options before signing a severance agreement, they said. Here are five things to consider when signing your severance agreement, according to labor lawyers:1. Consider what you are willing to give up in exchange for the severance paymentWhen employees accept a severance package, they're asked to give up something in exchange — like their ability to sue the company. "We have been receiving a lot of calls from workers laid off by tech companies," she said.

Circuit Court of Appeals that evidence Liu did present, including a survey his lawyers conducted of thousands of Uber drivers, was enough to send the case to trial. The survey showed that minorities were significantly more likely to be kicked off of Uber for having low ratings. The judge had said that the survey was inadequate because it only polled people who, like Liu, were barred from driving for Uber and not the overall population of Uber drivers. Uber, which has denied that its rating system is discriminatory, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The EEOC's involvement in a case can be persuasive to courts because the agency is tasked with interpreting federal anti-discrimination laws.

☆ Several more companies are suing Twitter, claiming it owes them around $230,000 in unpaid bills and they don't know if they'll ever be paid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Four companies filed a class-action suit against Twitter, accusing it of failing to pay some bills. They said that Twitter has approved the invoices but they don't know when or even if they'll be paid. It's not the first time Twitter has been sued by companies claiming that their bills have gone unpaid. The company had provided Twitter with real-time captioning services throughout 2022, the lawsuit said. The four companies are suing Twitter for breach of contract and have asked for a trial by jury.

☆ A new group of Twitter vendors is suing the company for alleged unpaid bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A group of Twitter vendors on Tuesday filed a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that the company has failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in overdue bills. The company alleged that it began contacting Twitter in November about overdue and pending invoices for services rendered under a contract signed in March 2022. Twitter owes the captioning company around $42,000, according to the complaint. YES Consulting, which said it provided leadership training to Twitter employees per an agreement signed in March 2022, alleges that Twitter owes it approximately $49,000 for services provided between August and November last year. The vendors are seeking damages in the amount each company is allegedly owed by Twitter, as well as interest.

Five other cases are pending in the same court accusing Twitter of violating those laws, targeting female workers for layoffs and discriminating against employees with disabilities. Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees, or half its workforce, in early November in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, who paid $44 billion to acquire the social media platform. Twitter and Maryland-based TEKsystems, named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Liss-Riordan said she also has filed complaints in private arbitration on behalf of more than 1,700 former Twitter employees and contractors who signed agreements to arbitrate legal disputes. Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Laid-off Twitter software engineer calls job market 'hot garbage': 'maybe I should go be a firefighter'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A laid-off Twitter engineer told CNN that they've faced a "wave of rejections" for job applications. "The market is hot garbage right now," De Caires told CNN. They are one of the hundreds of former Twitter employees who have sought legal recourse over severance packages offered to laid-off staff members. De Caires told CNN that the grim market for tech jobs was making them contemplate dramatically different career options. "However, following Musk's purchase of the company, Twitter reneged on this agreement."

☆ She was weeks away from maternity leave at Twitter. Then Elon Musk took over
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Twitter now reportedly has fewer than 2,000 employees following more cuts late last month, down from around 7,500 before Musk took over. CNN“We were on the Twitter-coaster, the Elon Musk chapter, for seven months,” Ali said. De Caires is one of the former Twitter employees taking legal action against the company following mass layoffs after Musk took over. Jeff Chiu/APInstead, Twitter employees say they heard very little from their new leader in the days immediately after his takeover. Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan is representing around 1,500 former Twitter employees taking legal action against the company following Musk's takeover.

☆ Elon Musk faces upward of $130 million in legal costs to fight laid-off Twitter workers over severance pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk last month offered thousands of laid-off Twitter workers a limited severance deal. In addition, laid-off Twitter employees also filed a handful of class-action lawsuits in federal court. Instead, Musk is offering laid-off workers one month of base pay as severance. It also effectively prohibits them from ever speaking about Musk, Twitter, or their experience at the company. Even those relatively few Twitter workers who signed off on Musk's severance agreement could speak freely about the company going forward.

☆ Elon Musk faces upwards of $130 million in legal costs to fight laid off Twitter workers over severance pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk last month offered thousands of laid off Twitter workers a limited severance deal. The former workers, laid off in November, say they were promised much better severance than what Musk finally offered them last month. In addition, laid off Twitter employees also filed a handful of class action lawsuits in federal court. It also effectively prohibits them from ever speaking about Musk, Twitter, or their experience at the company. Even those relatively few Twitter workers who signed off on Musk's severance agreement could speak freely about the company going forward.

☆ A laid-off Twitter manager said the company wanted to make people's lives better, but that 'went to garbage' after Elon Musk's takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A former Twitter manager says the company's plans "went to garbage" after Elon Musk bought it. The number of ex-staff suing Twitter "goes up daily," a lawyer fighting the company told the broadcaster. "We wanted to make people's lives more pleasant and more productive," Amir Shevat told the broadcaster. In his less than four months since taking control of Twitter, Musk has introduced sweeping changes to the platform. Shevat told the BBC that Twitter should have laid off staff "in a legal way, empathetic way and a highly communicative way."

Liss-Riordan and Twitter made a joint filing in San Francisco federal court on Thursday to update the court ahead of a hearing scheduled for Feb. 9. The workers claim Twitter refused to pay promised severance or give them the advance notice of mass layoffs required by law, which the company denies. In an interview on Friday, Liss-Riordan said Twitter is likely trying to delay the arbitration cases in hopes that some workers drop their claims. “This is just a stupid game that Twitter is trying to play,” she said. Liss-Riordan has filed three other lawsuits against Twitter stemming from the layoffs, including claims that the company targeted female employees and forced out workers with disabilities.

☆ Laid-off Twitter workers have been forced to drop their class-action lawsuit demanding more severance pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The five laid-off workers had signed arbitration agreements agreeing not to bring suits against Twitter. "Twitter provided signed copies of the agreements, and they are all clear and straightforward," Donato wrote in the order. Since Elon Musk took ownership of the company in late October, Twitter has laid off thousands of workers. Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney representing the laid-off Twitter workers, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours. She said that she had already filed 500 individual arbitration demands, with more to come.

☆ Twitter's laid-off workers cannot pursue claims via class-action lawsuit, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter Inc has secured a ruling allowing the social media company to force several laid-off workers suing over their termination to pursue their claims via individual arbitration than a class-action lawsuit. Donato granted Twitter's request to force the five ex-employees to pursue their claims individually, citing agreements they signed with the company. The lawyer who represents the plaintiffs, Shannon Liss-Riordan, said on Monday that she had already filed 300 demands for arbitration on behalf of former Twitter employees and would likely file hundreds more. Those workers all claim they have not received the full severance package promised by Twitter before Musk took over. The judge said that before asking workers to sign severance agreements waiving their ability to sue the company, Twitter must give them "a succinct and plainly worded notice".

☆ Twitter’s laid-off workers cannot pursue claims via class-action lawsuit, judge says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter (TWTR) has secured a ruling allowing the social media company to force several laid-off workers suing over their termination to pursue their claims via individual arbitration rather than a class-action lawsuit. US District Judge James Donato on Friday ruled that five former Twitter employees pursuing a proposed class action accusing the company of failing to give adequate notice before laying them off after its acquisition by Elon Musk must pursue their claims in private arbitration. Donato granted Twitter’s request to force the five ex-employees to pursue their claims individually, citing agreements they signed with the company. The lawyer who represents the plaintiffs, Shannon Liss-Riordan, said on Monday that she had already filed 300 demands for arbitration on behalf of former Twitter employees and would likely file hundreds more. Those workers all claim they have not received the full severance package promised by Twitter before Musk took over.

☆ A lawyer representing hundreds of laid-off Twitter staff has accused Elon Musk of trying to 'fleece' workers over severance pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A lawyer fighting Twitter said Elon Musk tried to "fleece" ex-workers with his offers of severance pay. This allegation has already been detailed in one of the four class-action lawsuits Liss-Riordan filed against the company in late 2022 on behalf of former Twitter employees. Musk himself had previously said that people who left the company would be given three months of severance. The former workers told Insider's Kali Hays that they were disappointed by the severance ultimately offered by Musk. "Musk's decision to fleece Twitter workers isn't just shameful – it's also going to be very costly," Liss-Riordan added.

☆ Frustrated former Twitter staff had to wait 2 months after being laid off to get their severance agreements. Twitter blamed the delay on staff suing the company.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Grace Dean | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some Twitter staff who were laid off in November finally got their separation agreements on Saturday. When they did finally come through, Twitter blamed the delay on staff taking legal action related to their terminations. That suit was filed by plaintiffs including Emmanuel Cornet, who Twitter laid off in early November, and others who are officially being laid off this month and next. Some former Twitter workers told Insider's Kali Hays that they were disappointed by the severance the company ultimately offered them. Those benefits Twitter had offered before Musk's takeover included two months severance pay or more, along with other bonuses, according to the lawsuit.

☆ Former Twitter employees get severance offer after months of waiting. Many are unhappy with it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —After months of uncertainty and feeling left in the dark, many former Twitter employees impacted by a mass layoff in early November began receiving their severance offers over the weekend. The severance offer promises one month’s pay in exchange for agreeing to various terms, including a non-disparagement agreement and waiving the right to take any legal action against the company, according to Lisa Bloom, a lawyer representing dozens of former Twitter employees affected by the layoffs. The former Twitter employees are now stuck deciding whether to accept the money or join the hundreds of others who have already filed arbitration demands or lawsuits against the company. “We’ve been hearing from hundreds of Twitter employees who are considering their options and not happy about only being offered one month severance, after they were promised much more,” Shannon Liss-Riordan, another lawyer working on behalf of former Twitter employees, told CNN in a statement Monday. The severance offer would also require that employees who sign agree not to cooperate as a witness in any legal actions brought by third parties against Twitter.

☆ Laid-off Twitter employees left in the lurch waiting for severance payments 2 months down the line, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk said each laid-off employee would get three months' severance. A lawyer told CNN the separation date for laid-off staff was Thursday but they remain in the lurch. He then followed up in a tweet to say that all laid-off workers were offered three months' severance. However, some former employees told CNN in a report published Thursday that Twitter has failed to send them any information about a severance agreement. A representative for Shannon Liss-Riordan, a lawyer who has filed 100 demands for arbitration on behalf of former Twitter employees, told CNN on Thursday that her clients hadn't received any details about severance from Twitter.

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