Meta sued for using AI to target disabled workers in layoffs

On Monday late in the day, twenty-six Meta employees filed a federal lawsuit in Oakland, California, accusing the tech giant of using AI-powered software to target workers with disabilities or who took medical leave for elimination in mass layoffs conducted earlier in the year. The plaintiffs were notified in May that their jobs would be eliminated starting on July 22, and they say Meta relied on factors such as productivity and AI token usage when selecting workers to cut. The lawsuit appears to be the first against a major U.S. company to challenge the alleged use of AI in conducting layoffs.

According to the complaint, Meta used several internal AI-assisted systems to score and rank employees on a termination list. Those included Metamate, a large language model assistant; an employee-trained "second brain" that tracked workers' communications and documents; and a productivity score derived from scanning keystrokes, screen content, emails and browser history. The plaintiffs, who come from six states including California and New York, and the District of Columbia, are accusing Meta of violating federal and state laws that ban discrimination or retaliation against workers who have disabilities, take medical leave or are pregnant. They also claim that Meta failed to test its AI systems for bias in violation of recently adopted California and New York City laws.

The workers are seeking a preliminary ruling from the court to block Meta from completing the layoffs while they pursue their claims in private arbitration. The plaintiffs note that Meta's agreements require employees to arbitrate workplace disputes individually, but that requests for temporary relief do not fall under that requirement. A Meta spokesperson responded on Tuesday, saying the claims lack merit, and stated: "Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI." The layoffs were part of a broader shift as Meta increased its AI investments and centered AI agents in both its product offerings and its approach to work internally. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since said he does not expect any more company-wide layoffs this year.

Meta's May layoff of nearly 8,000 employees—10% of its global workforce—has now become the subject of a novel legal challenge that may set a precedent for AI use in corporate decisions. The lawsuit marks a significant moment in the regulatory scrutiny of AI in hiring and employment, coming as California and New York City have recently adopted laws requiring companies to test AI systems for bias. The plaintiffs' allegation that Meta's AI-assisted scoring systems—including Metamate and keystroke-monitoring tools—disproportionately disadvantaged workers with disabilities or medical absences touches on a core tension in AI deployment: even systems designed to optimize for productivity metrics can embed or amplify discrimination against protected groups. Meta's response—that people, not AI, made final workforce decisions—does not directly address whether the AI systems' outputs biased human judgment. The case occurs as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has refocused the company toward AI investments and AI agents, making employment practices a visible test of how the company integrates AI into sensitive decisions.