Meta used AI workplace tools to target employees on medical leave, lawsuit alleges

In a shocking turn of events, a new lawsuit claims that Meta employed AI-driven workplace tools to unfairly penalize employees who took medical or parental leave, ultimately leading to their selection for layoffs. The legal action, initiated by 26 current and former employees in a Northern California federal court, asserts that the tech giant utilized AI-assisted systems in its decision-making process when approximately 8,000 jobs were cut in May. The plaintiffs contend that Meta’s reliance on metrics like work output and software development activities, which employees on protected leave could not fulfill, resulted in mischaracterizing their absence as poor performance. The lawsuit argues that this failure to adjust metrics for time away from work unfairly penalized those taking medical leave, maternity leave, or disability accommodations. According to the complaint, the termination process did not involve a thoughtful evaluation by managers familiar with the employees' contributions. Instead, it allegedly hinged on automated systems, including Meta's internal AI chatbot, Metamate, and other AI-driven monitoring tools that evaluated employees based on their interaction with AI technologies. The lawsuit claims that employees were ranked using categories such as "AI Native" and "AI First," with their scores negatively impacted during periods of absence. Meta has firmly denied these allegations, stating that workforce management decisions are made by people, not algorithms. A spokesperson remarked, "These claims lack merit and are not based on facts." This lawsuit arrives amid Meta's push for increased AI integration in the workplace, with the company tracking employee engagement with AI through internal dashboards. Other major corporations like Disney and JPMorgan are also adopting similar practices. The complaint also highlights Meta's controversial monitoring software, which was designed to track keystrokes and mouse movements to enhance AI models. Following employee backlash regarding privacy concerns, this program was paused in June after sensitive data was leaked internally. Additionally, the lawsuit references a performance evaluation system called Checkpoint, which reportedly emphasized AI adoption as a key metric for employee assessment. Several individuals claim they were selected for layoffs while on approved medical leave, with some alleging that managers indicated that taking such leave would put them at risk of being laid off. The plaintiffs are seeking a court order to halt their terminations while their claims are arbitrated, as well as an independent review of the layoff selection process. They also request that Meta reassess these selections without factoring in any protected leave or disability accommodations. The employees, who have opted to remain anonymous, hail from various states, including California, New York, and Florida.