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U.S. District Judge James Donato on Friday ruled that five
former Twitter employees pursuing a proposed class action
accusing the company of failing to give adequate notice before
laying them off after its acquisition by Elon Musk must pursue
their claims in private arbitration.
Donato granted Twitter's request to force the five ex-employees
to pursue their claims individually, citing agreements they
signed with the company.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The San Francisco judge left for another day "as warranted by
developments in the case" whether the entire class action
lawsuit must be dismissed, though, as he noted three other
former Twitter employees who alleged they had opted out of the
company's arbitration agreement have joined the lawsuit after it
was first filed.
Last year, Donato had ruled that, Twitter must notify the
thousands of workers who were laid off after its acquisition by
Musk following a proposed class action accusing the company of
failing to give adequate notice before terminating them.
The judge said that before asking workers to sign severance
agreements waiving their ability to sue the company, Twitter
must give them "a succinct and plainly worded notice".
Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November in a
cost-cutting measure by Musk, and hundreds more subsequently
resigned.
In December last year, Twitter was also accused by dozens of
former employees of various legal violations stemming from
Musk's takeover of the company, including targeting women for
layoffs and failing to pay promised severance.
Twitter is also facing at least three complaints filed with a
U.S. labor board claiming workers were fired for criticizing the
company, attempting to organize a strike, and other conduct
protected by federal labor law.
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru and Nate Raymond in
Boston, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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