© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A keyboard is positioned in entrance of a displayed Twitter brand on this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Picture
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) -A California federal choose on Monday dismissed a proposed class motion accusing Twitter Inc (NYSE:) of concentrating on feminine workers for layoffs after Elon Musk acquired the corporate final yr, however mentioned plaintiffs could be allowed to amend the lawsuit so as to add extra particulars.
U.S. District Decide Jon Tigar in Oakland mentioned the lawsuit filed in December was “devoid of primary info,” such because the plaintiffs’ positions with Twitter and the identification of managers who determined which staff could be laid off.
Tigar additionally mentioned that allegedly sexist remarks made by Musk and cited by the plaintiffs have been irrelevant as a result of they got here lengthy earlier than he acquired Twitter for $44 billion final yr.
The choice got here after a distinct choose in the identical courtroom on Friday dismissed a separate lawsuit accusing Twitter of discriminating towards staff with disabilities by requiring workers to report back to the workplace and put in lengthy hours working at excessive depth after the layoffs in November.
Each judges gave the plaintiffs three weeks to file amended lawsuits additional detailing their claims.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in each circumstances, mentioned that she deliberate to file a revised criticism in every lawsuit including new info.
Twitter didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The plaintiffs within the intercourse discrimination lawsuit say that Twitter laid off 57% of its feminine staff in comparison with 47% of males after Musk took over. The disparity was extra stark for engineering roles, the place 63% of girls misplaced their jobs in comparison with 48% of males, in response to the lawsuit.
The incapacity bias case was filed in November by a former engineering supervisor and most cancers survivor who claims that Twitter fired him when he refused to cease working remotely. Musk mentioned in a memo to employees in November that workers ought to be ready to work “lengthy hours at excessive depth” or give up.
The lawsuits are amongst a number of Twitter is dealing with stemming from Musk’s determination to put off about half of the corporate’s workforce.
Twitter has denied wrongdoing in these circumstances, together with ones claiming that the corporate didn’t pay promised severance.
Liss-Riordan additionally represents almost 2,000 former Twitter workers who’ve filed authorized claims towards the corporate in arbitration.