California, USA — Ekhbary News Agency
Dozens of former Meta employees have initiated a lawsuit against the social media giant, alleging the company utilized artificial intelligence tools to identify workers for recent mass layoffs. The complaint, filed Monday in a federal court in California's northern district, specifically claims these AI systems disproportionately targeted individuals who had taken protected leave, such as maternity leave or disability accommodation. This legal action follows Meta's significant workforce reduction of approximately 8,000 employees earlier this year.
Allegations of AI Bias in Layoff Decisions
The 71-page complaint, brought by 26 named workers, asserts that Meta did not rely on “considered judgment of managers” but rather a “constellation of internal artificial intelligence systems.” These systems, for what it's worth, reportedly included AI performance ratings alongside keystroke and activity monitoring data to select employees for termination. Plaintiffs contend that inputs for these metrics often do not exist or are reduced when employees are on medical or family leave, effectively penalizing them for exercising legal rights. One scientist, for instance, received layoff notification just two days before giving birth while on approved pre-birth pregnancy leave, underscoring the severity of the alleged bias.
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Meta's Response and Broader Regulatory Scrutiny
A Meta spokesperson, in an email to The Guardian, vehemently disputed the allegations, stating, “These claims lack merit and are not based on facts.” The company maintains that “workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI.” This case emerges amidst growing concerns over AI decision-making in the workplace, with regulators in states like California, Colorado, and Illinois already enacting laws to safeguard workers from AI-related bias. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously introduced an AI employee-monitoring program, designed to learn from employee behaviors, but paused it in June following considerable employee backlash.
