Meta is facing a new lawsuit accusing it of using AI-supported systems to select employees for layoffs in a way that allegedly disproportionately affected workers with disabilities, those on medical or family leave.

26 Employees Sue “Meta” for Alleged Discrimination

Twenty-six employees filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Oakland, California, asserting that the company relied on indicators such as productivity rates and AI tools when preparing layoff lists, which, according to the lawsuit, placed employees who had been absent for health or family reasons at a less competitive disadvantage compared to others.

The employees, who were notified last May of their terminations effective July 22, are seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the layoffs pending resolution of the dispute. They assert that employment agreements require them to resort to individual arbitration but do not prevent them from seeking temporary court orders.

For its part, Meta has denied the allegations. A spokesperson for the company said the lawsuit “lacks merit,” confirming that workforce management and restructuring decisions were made by people, not AI systems.

According to observers, this lawsuit is one of the first in the United States to legally challenge the alleged use of artificial intelligence in employee layoff decisions within a major tech company.

Meta has laid off around 10% of its global workforce, equivalent to nearly 8,000 employees, as part of a major restructuring aimed at increasing investments in artificial intelligence technologies and integrating AI agents into its products and internal workplace environment. However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg later announced that he does not anticipate implementing another round of company-wide layoffs this year.

Artificial Intelligence Accused as the Main Culprit in Layoffs

Plaintiffs accuse the company of violating federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination or retaliation against employees based on disability, medical leave, or pregnancy. They also claim that Meta did not conduct sufficient tests to monitor bias in its used AI systems, in violation of recent legislation in California and New York.

According to the lawsuit, the company utilized several internal AI-supported systems to assess and rank employees for layoffs, including the Metamate AI assistant, an internal system known as Second Brain to track communications and documents, a productivity index based on keyboard clicks, screen content, email messages, and internet browsing history.