Twitter Again Sued Over Severance Pay, Bias During Layoffs: Report – News18

Twitter Inc on Tuesday was hit with the second lawsuit this month to say that it owes no less than $500 million in severance pay to ex-workers, the newest in a collection of instances arising from Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social media firm.

The proposed class motion filed in Delaware federal courtroom by former Twitter senior engineer Chris Woodfield additionally alleges that the corporate focused older staff for layoffs, a declare that has not been made within the different pending instances.

Woodfield, who labored for Twitter out of Seattle, says the corporate repeatedly informed workers that they might obtain two months’ wage and different payouts in the event that they have been laid off, however that he and different staff haven’t obtained the cash.

Twitter laid off greater than half of its workforce as a cost-cutting measure after Musk acquired the corporate final October.

Twitter not has a media relations division and the corporate responded to an e mail searching for remark with an computerized response containing a poop emoji. The firm has stated in response to different lawsuits that laid-off staff have been paid in full.

An identical lawsuit was filed final week in California federal courtroom claiming Twitter owes ex-employees greater than $500 million in severance.

Twitter has not responded to that lawsuit, which claims it violated a federal legislation regulating worker profit plans by failing to abide by the phrases of a severance plan established earlier than Musk acquired the corporate.

Woodfield’s lawsuit accuses the corporate of breach of contract and fraud. Woodfield additionally claims that Twitter focused him to be laid off as a result of he’s an ”older employee,” although the grievance doesn’t state his age.

According to the lawsuit, Woodfield signed an settlement to arbitrate work-related authorized disputes that requires Twitter to pay the preliminary charges to permit particular person instances to proceed. He says that he initiated an arbitration towards Twitter earlier this 12 months.

But Woodfield claims Twitter has refused to pay the charge in his case, blocking it from going ahead. That declare was made by lots of of ex-employees in a separate case earlier this 12 months. Twitter has stated these staff didn’t submit the required paperwork.

Twitter has additionally been accused in a number of separate lawsuits of disproportionately shedding girls and staff with disabilities, failing to provide advance discover of layoffs, and never paying promised bonuses to its remaining workers. The firm has denied these claims.

(This story has been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated news company feed – Reuters)