Meta Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Artificial Intelligence Discrimination in Layoff Decisions

Twenty-six current and former Meta employees have sued the social media company, claiming its artificial intelligence systems discriminated against workers on medical leave, parental leave, and those with disabilities during a May layoff that eliminated approximately 8,000 positions, or roughly 10 percent of the workforce. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oakland, California, contends that Meta's AI-driven decision-making process violated multiple federal and state employment laws protecting workers in vulnerable circumstances.

The Allegations

According to the legal complaint, Meta's internal AI systems relied on metrics including keystroke monitoring, activity tracking, AI token consumption, performance ratings, calibration scores, and productivity output measurements when selecting employees for termination. The plaintiffs argue these metrics were inherently biased against workers taking approved absences for medical conditions, pregnancy, disability accommodations, or family obligations.

The lawsuit states that these metrics "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 complaint further alleges that Meta failed to pause its algorithmic systems to conduct the individualized, leave-neutral review that employment law requires before making termination decisions. Additionally, the workers claim Meta did not test its AI systems for bias, violating newly enacted discrimination screening laws in California and New York City.

Legal Claims and Scope

The 26 plaintiffs, drawn from six states including California, New York, and Washington, D.C., are pursuing claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. They are seeking a preliminary court order to block Meta from completing the layoffs while their individual arbitration claims proceed.

Meta disputed the allegations, stating through a company spokesperson that "claims lack merit and are not based on facts" and emphasizing that "workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI." The company contended that human judgment, not algorithms alone, drove the layoff decisions.

Broader Legal Context

The Meta lawsuit arrives amid heightened scrutiny of AI-assisted hiring and workforce management practices. Earlier in the year, a federal judge in California ruled against technology firm Workday in a similar case, determining that the company must face claims that its AI-powered job screening violated state and federal employment discrimination laws. That ruling suggests courts may be increasingly willing to examine whether automated systems encode or amplify existing workplace biases.