The social media platform formerly known as Twitter has been central Since the beginning of Elon Musk’s takeover. One such lawsuit concerns more than 6,000 workers who were laid off after Musk bought the company and allegedly failed to pay them full severance pay. Musk dropped a notch yesterday on former employees.
The case in question is a class action Submitted by former Twitter employee Courtney McMillian. The complaint alleged that under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Twitter Severance Plan deprived employees of three months’ pay. They received less than that and asked for $500 million in unpaid severance pay. However, on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson for the Northern District of California Motion to Dismiss Musk’s Class Action Complaint.
Judge Thompson found that the Twitter severance plan did not comply with ERISA because they had received notice of a separate payment scheme prior to the layoff. Instead, he dismissed the case, ruling that the layoff program enacted after the Musk takeover applied to those former employees, not in 2019, which the plaintiffs had hoped for.
The decision is a setback for the thousands of Twitter workers who have been laid off, but there is a chance they will win bigger payouts in the future. Thompson’s order noted that plaintiffs could amend their complaints for non-ERISA claims. If they do, Thompson said in X Corp/Twitter, “this Court will look to decide this case as one of the cases currently pending.” Lawsuits are still ongoing on behalf of some of the former hosts wanted on Twitter. seeking compensation for unpaid severance and another in unpaid legal fees.
