tech

Meta used AI workplace tools to target employees on medical leave, lawsuit alleges

Meta faces a lawsuit from 26 employees alleging AI systems unfairly targeted them for layoffs for taking medical leave.

Meta used AI workplace tools to target employees on medical leave, lawsuit alleges

TL;DR

  • A lawsuit alleges Meta used AI-powered workplace systems to penalize employees for taking medical, parental, and disability leave.
  • The AI tools allegedly tracked metrics such as work output and software activity, which employees could not accrue while on leave.
  • This data was allegedly used to score and rank workers, leading to selection for layoffs.
  • Plaintiffs claim Meta's AI systems, including internal chatbots and performance tools, were used to identify employees for termination.
  • Meta denies the allegations, stating that workforce decisions were made by people, not AI.
  • The lawsuit seeks to pause terminations and order an independent audit of Meta's layoff selection process.