(Reuters) – Twitter is facing its second lawsuit this month, claiming it owes $500 million in severance pay to former employees. The latest lawsuit alleges that the company targeted older workers for layoffs, a claim not made in previous cases.
The lawsuit was filed by former Twitter senior engineer Chris Woodfield in Delaware federal court. Woodfield states that the company promised two months’ salary and other payouts to laid-off workers, which they have not received.
Twitter let go more than half of its workforce after Elon Musk acquired the company in October. It no longer has a media relations department and responded to a request for comment with a poop emoji.
A separate lawsuit was filed in California federal court last week, also claiming Twitter owes ex-workers over $500 million in severance payments. The lawsuit alleges Twitter violated a federal law by not adhering to the terms of its severance plan.
The lawsuit accuses Twitter of breach of contract and fraud. Woodfield also claims he was targeted for layoff because of his age, although his age is not specified in the complaint.
According to Woodfield’s lawsuit, he signed an agreement with Twitter mandating arbitration for work-related legal disputes. However, Twitter has refused to pay the fee required to proceed with the arbitration.
Twitter has been accused in multiple lawsuits of disproportionately laying off women and workers with disabilities, failing to give advanced notice of layoffs, and withholding promised bonuses from remaining employees. The company denies these claims.
Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Deepa Babington
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
