Meta accused of using AI to pick employees with medical conditions for layoffs
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Set us as preferred Twenty-six Meta employees sued the social media giant over allegations that the California company used artificial intelligence systems that targeted workers on medical or family leave for layoffs.The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California this week, accuses Meta of using AI that includes performance rankings and other metrics that didn’t exclude workers on leave or those who are disabled.“The result was that employees who took protected leaves were disproportionately selected for layoff, based on scoring that not only failed to account for their protected leaves, but in effect penalized the employees for exercising their legal rights to these leaves,” the lawsuit said.Meta laid off nearly 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its global workforce, in May as the company looked at offsetting the costs of AI investments.
By allegedly targeting certain workers, the company violated federal and state laws that protect employees who are pregnant, disabled or on leave, according to the lawsuit.Meta denied the allegations.
“These claims lack merit and are not based on facts,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.“Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI.” Business Tech giants such as Meta and Coinbase continue to lay off employees, citing the way AI is reshaping how people work.
Tech workers are navigating a crossroads in their careers and a brutal job market.The novel claims are the latest example of how courts are being confronted with fresh legal questions as the concerns surrounding artificial intelligence heighten.Meta used AI to monitor an employee’s keystrokes and activity, sparking backlash from workers, according to the more than 70-page lawsuit.
The company also asked employees to train a personal AI agent called a “second brain,...