By Queenie Wong
Staff Writer
July 16, 20263 AM PT
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Twenty-six Meta employees sued the social media giant over allegations that the California company used artificial intelligence systems that targeted workers on medical or family leave for layoffs
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California this week, accuses Meta of using AI that includes performance rankings and other metrics that didn’t exclude workers on leave or those who are disabled
“The result was that employees who took protected leaves were disproportionately selected for layoff, based on scoring that not only failed to account for their protected leaves, but in effect penalized the employees for exercising their legal rights to these leaves,” the lawsuit said
Meta laid off nearly 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its global workforce, in May as the company looked at offsetting the costs of AI investments. By allegedly targeting certain workers, the company violated federal and state laws that protect employees who are pregnant, disabled or on leave, according to the lawsuit
Meta denied the allegations
“These claims lack merit and are not based on facts,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI.”
<img src="https://healthylife7.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/75-12.jpg” alt=”SAN JOSE, CA, UNITED STATES – MAY 18, 2026: Basem Istanbouli (center – in black) organizes hikers into groups before the hike starts. Basem Istanbouli leads a main hike with unPTO, an organization that coordinates hikes for the community of laid off tech workers to network and support each other in search of a career transition, at Quicksilver McAbee Loop on Monday, May 18, 2026 in San Jose, CA. Major tech companies such as Meta, Coinbase and others continue to lay off employees, citing the way artificial intelligence is reshaping the way people work. Some tech workers are finding it’s taking a longer time to land their next job while others are stepping back to ponder their next career move. (Carolyn Fong / For The Times)”>
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The novel claims are the latest example of how courts are being confronted with fresh legal questions as the concerns surrounding artificial intelligence heighten
Meta used AI to monitor an employee’s keystrokes and activity, sparking backlash from workers, according to the more than 70-page lawsuit. The company also asked employees to train a personal AI agent called a “second brain,” the lawsuit said
“At least some senior leaders trained second-brain agents in advance of going on leave, including maternity leave, so that Meta could continue to draw on the employee’s output during the absence,” the lawsuit said
The workers, who are anonymous in the lawsuit, are current and former Meta employees from California, New York, Washington and other states
One California worker, who was a manager at Meta for roughly four years, received high performance reviews but took approved leave for bereavement, a health condition and pregnancy in different years. She filed her intent to take maternity leave in April, and weeks later, she learned she would be laid off, according to the lawsuit
Other California Meta workers who got laid off included those on paternity leave and medical leave who were disabled, the lawsuit said
Some workers on medical leave allege they received a lower performance review before losing their jobs
The harm allegedly done to the employees can’t be “undone by money damages alone,” the lawsuit said
“Meta is taking away the entire purpose of a protected leave — to heal, to care for family, and to have protected time away from work to do so,” the lawsuit said
The workers are seeking a court order that would prevent Meta from laying them off and altering their compensation and benefits as their legal claims are resolved, and pending an “independent audit of the algorithmically assisted selection process,” according to the lawsuit
Other tech companies, including Amazon, Oracle and Microsoft, have been conducting mass layoffs this year
From January to June, U.S. tech employers announced 139,156 layoffs, up 83% from the same period in 2025, according to global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas
