Meta is facing a lawsuit from a group of 26 current and former employees who allege the company used AI-powered workplace monitoring systems that unfairly influenced layoff decisions, disproportionately affecting employees with disabilities or those on protected medical leave.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in a federal court in Oakland, California, claims Meta's internal AI-based performance evaluation tools failed to account for approved medical absences, resulting in lower performance ratings that were later used during workforce reductions.
According to the complaint, the company relied on a combination of AI tools and digital workplace metrics, including an internal chatbot called Metamate, AI assistants trained on employee knowledge, AI usage dashboards, and activity indicators such as keystrokes and computer usage.
The plaintiffs allege the systems assessed productivity largely through digital activity and did not recognise authorised medical or disability leave. They claim employees who logged fewer hours because of approved leave received lower performance rankings, making them more vulnerable during restructuring.
The lawsuit also alleges Meta compiled termination rankings using data such as keyboard activity, browser history, emails and screen content. The employees argue that these practices failed to distinguish between reduced activity caused by approved leave and lower job performance.
The plaintiffs contend the company violated federal and state laws that protect workers from discrimination based on disability, pregnancy or medical leave. They also allege Meta failed to adequately assess its AI systems for potential bias, raising concerns under emerging AI regulations in jurisdictions including California and New York City.
The group has asked the court to halt the disputed layoffs while their individual employment claims proceed through arbitration.
Meta denied that artificial intelligence was responsible for workforce decisions.
"Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI," a company spokesperson told the New York Post. Reuters first reported details of the lawsuit.
The legal challenge follows one of Meta's largest rounds of job cuts earlier this year, when the company laid off about 8,000 employees, nearly 10% of its global workforce, while reassigning roughly 7,000 employees to AI-related roles as part of Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's AI strategy.
Meta has also projected capital expenditure of between $125 billion and $145 billion this year, with much of the investment earmarked for expanding AI infrastructure and data centres.
The lawsuit comes as technology companies increasingly adopt AI tools to assess employee performance and support workforce decisions, intensifying scrutiny over transparency, bias and accountability in automated workplace systems.