Elon Musk loses legal battle with former Twitter employee
Elon Musk has lost a legal battle over unpaid severance pay with a former employee. Twitter employees have been laid off as it takes over the social media platform in 2022, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.
The settlement, which was handled through arbitration, comes nearly two years after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion and promptly laid off more than half its staff.
The move has sparked more than 2,000 complaints from former employees who say they were underpaid. Friday’s victory in the case could set a precedent for thousands of former employees who have filed similar arbitration claims.
“The arbitrator has awarded our client’s entire severance package,” attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan said in a memo Monday obtained from two former Twitter employees who declined to be identified. “We are excited about this development and hope it portends more good news to come.”
Liss-Riordan declined to comment or disclose the written arbitration award following her client’s closed-door proceedings before a private judge.
X did not respond to a request for comment.
In July, Musk and X Corp. — the name the billionaire chose to rebrand Twitter — defeated A lawsuit alleges that at least $500 million in severance pay is owed to about 6,000 employees who were laid off under the terms of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
In the memo, Liss-Riordan said 15 cases have reached arbitration hearings and she expects more rulings to be made in the coming months.
“We hope that if further rulings are made, Twitter/X will be willing to come to the table to work out a resolution for everyone,” she wrote.
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