Dec 22 (Reuters) – Twitter (TWTR.MX) has asked a California federal judge to stop employees from returning to the office to work “long hours and high intensity,” according to Chief Executive Elon Musk. (CEO) to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit. Discriminate against workers with disabilities.
A lawyer for Twitter filed a motion to dismiss the November lawsuit late Wednesday, saying the plaintiffs did not allege that the company’s actions targeted or disproportionately affected people with disabilities. Stated.
Twitter laid off about 3,700 employees in early November. This is due to cost-cutting measures taken by Musk, who bought the company for $44 billion and is also the CEO of Tesla (TSLA.O). Hundreds more resigned after he asked staff to “very hardcore” or quit.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk’s ultimatum violated the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The two plaintiffs, who are engineering managers, say they were laid off and fired, respectively, last month. They claim that many Twitter employees with disabilities were forced to resign because they were unable to return to the office and meet the strict standards for masks.
The company said in Wednesday’s filing that the dismissed worker had signed a contract to arbitrate employment-related legal disputes and asked to have his claims brought to arbitration.
Another former employee, Dmitry Borodeenko, was fired before Musk promised employees to work long hours, so he cannot represent his class of employees, the company said.
Plaintiffs’ attorney, Shannon Rhys Riordan, said it was routine for defendants to try to dismiss cases early.
“While we will respond, we stand by these allegations and look forward to holding Twitter and Elon Musk accountable for their deplorable treatment of their employees over the past two months.
A public hearing is scheduled for April on Twitter’s motion.
The lawsuit is one of four lawsuits pending in the same court arising from the company’s layoffs. Other lawsuits accuse Twitter of failing to give employees and contractors advance notice of layoffs, failing to pay promised severance pay, and disproportionately targeting women for layoffs. There is
This week, dozens of former Twitter employees filed complaints against the company in an arbitration making similar allegations.
Twitter has denied violating the law requiring advance notice of layoffs and has not responded to any other lawsuits.
(This story has been amended in paragraphs 6 through 8 to reflect that one plaintiff was terminated and is not a current employee.)
Reported by Daniel Wiessner of Albany, NY. Edited by Alexia Garamfalvi and Lisa Shumaker
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