A group of 26 former Meta employees has filed a federal lawsuit in California, alleging that the company utilized artificial intelligence to unfairly target workers for termination during a layoff earlier this year. The plaintiffs claim that Meta’s internal AI systems penalized staff on authorized leave—including medical and parental leave—by prioritizing performance data that these employees could not generate while away from work. Meta has officially denied these allegations, asserting that all organizational changes were managed by human decision-makers rather than automated software.
The Allegations: AI-Driven Performance Ranking
According to the 71-page court filing reported by The Guardian, the plaintiffs allege that Meta replaced traditional human management assessments with a network of internal AI systems. These systems reportedly tracked granular employee data, including keystrokes, activity levels, and performance metrics, to rank staff for redundancy. Around 8,000 Meta employees were affected by the layoffs referenced in the lawsuit.
The core of the legal challenge rests on the claim that the AI system failed to account for lawful absences. Because employees on leave were unable to record active work hours or hit specific performance targets during their time away, the plaintiffs argue the algorithm effectively punished them for their status. The filing cites specific instances, including a researcher terminated two days before her due date while on maternity leave, an engineer who received lower scores following a medical injury, and a manager fired 16 days into a medical leave.
Meta’s Response and Legal Standing
Meta has dismissed the claims as factually baseless. In a statement to The Guardian, a company spokesperson emphasized that “decisions about organizational changes and layoffs were, and are, made by people—not by artificial intelligence.” The plaintiffs are currently seeking a temporary injunction to halt the layoffs, alongside requests for reinstatement and financial compensation.
Expert Perspectives on Workplace Automation
The use of automated decision-making in human resources is drawing increased scrutiny from legal experts regarding potential bias and discrimination. Lasse Groven Egeberg, an attorney specializing in labor law at the firm Codex, notes that relying solely on numerical data for employment decisions creates significant legal risks.
According to Egeberg, human labor laws are designed to account for individual circumstances that algorithms often overlook. “I cannot see that AI programs have managed to assess human aspects related to employment,” Egeberg told Nettavisen. He warns that employers who replace human judgment with algorithmic assessment risk making decisions on “failing grounds” and may trigger avoidable litigation. Egeberg advocates for mandatory human oversight and comprehensive discussions before any termination, noting that even without AI, companies that rely exclusively on metrics often fail to meet legal standards for fair process.
Future Trends in Employment Law
The intersection of AI and labor rights is becoming a focal point for regulators in the United States, specifically regarding privacy and discrimination.
If you are concerned about automated performance metrics, familiarize yourself with your company’s internal policy regarding performance reviews and leave. Maintaining a documented paper trail of your work and communication with HR can provide essential protection in the event of disputed personnel actions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the plaintiffs claiming in the Meta lawsuit?
They claim Meta used AI systems to rank employees for layoff based on activity metrics, which unfairly penalized those on authorized medical or parental leave. - How has Meta responded to the lawsuit?
Meta denies the allegations, stating that all layoff decisions were made by human managers rather than AI. - Can AI legally determine employment status?
Labor law experts, such as Lasse Groven Egeberg, suggest that relying solely on AI metrics for termination often fails to account for the “human aspects” required by law, potentially leading to wrongful termination claims.
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