Meta Platforms is facing new legal scrutiny after lawsuits alleged the company used artificial intelligence tools in a manner that disproportionately affected employees on protected leave (e.g., maternity and disability leave) during recent rounds of layoffs.
The lawsuit, filed by dozens of former employees, asserts that workers who had legally protected leave were selected for job cuts at a much higher rate than other employees. Meta's performance evaluation and workforce reduction process relied on AI-assisted systems that unfairly disadvantaged employees who were temporarily absent from work, the plaintiffs claim.
According to the complaint, employees on maternity leave, medical leave, and disability leave were flagged for layoffs despite federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination based on the employment status of workers during leave periods. The lawsuit claims the company’s layoff process did not take into account employees who were absent because they applied for approved leave.
The plaintiffs say AI-driven assessments may have used incomplete or outdated performance data—and thus biased decisions. They claim employees who were not actively working because of approved leave may have appeared less productive or received lower evaluations, leading to layoffs.
The case poses a larger issue of the increasing use of artificial intelligence in the field of human resources, particularly in hiring, performance reviews, promotions and workforce reductions. If AI systems are developed based on incomplete or biased data, employment experts have said, it can unintentionally reproduce or amplify biases that have been built up from the very start.
And that has increased the awareness that it is not enough to use AI tools in job-related decisions to be transparent.
Meta has not been found liable and the allegations made in the lawsuit have yet to be tested in court. The company will respond through legal means, as is the case with any company.
The legal battle comes at a time when AI-based decision-making is under increased regulatory scrutiny in the world and employers are assessing the level of security in place of AI systems for protecting people from discrimination.
If the allegations are proven, the lawsuit could become a seminal test case for AI in workforce management and may influence future corporate policies on AI-assisted employment decisions.
In an era when companies are increasingly using AI in HR, the outcome of the case has implications far beyond Meta, and could inform best practices on AI in the management of employment in the technology sector.
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