After a few straining weeks since Elon Musk took over Twitter, slacked off former employees in large numbers are now taking the company to task over what they say are broken promises surrounding their severance from the company.
A well-known Los Angeles-based attorney, Lisa Bloom, announced in a press conference on Monday that she is now representing three ex-Twitter employees in arbitration claims — even going so far as to holding up a ceramic sink, nodding to the strange joke that Musk made when he took over the company in late October.
“Elon, you broke your promises and you violated the law, we are coming after you,” she said in a press conference held in her law offices and streamed online. “Let that sink in.”
Moreover, a New York-based lawyer is now intimidating to bring new arbitration claims on behalf of 22 ex-employees, while a Boston-based lawyer has brought three lawsuits and claims before the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of three additional former Twitter workers.
Collectively, they represent a new legal front that the company must now face, given that Musk has laid iff more than half of the company’s workforce since his acquisition in late October.
Primarily, the issue is that some employees say they are not receiving the level of severance and compensation, which includes bonuses and stock vesting, prior to the takeover. Moreover, others were given what Bloom called an “illegal ultimatum” — asking workers to take a three months severance deal if they weren’t willing to stay on as part of Musk’s “hardcore” workforce. Bloom said Twitter is in reported violation of a federal labor law, known as the WARN Act, which requires advance notice of termination before separation from the company actually takes place. If found in violation of this law, Twitter could owe penalties of $500 per employee per day.
Collectively, they represent a new legal front that the company must now face, given that Musk has laid iff more than half of the company’s workforce since his acquisition in late October.
Primarily, the issue is that some employees say they are not receiving the level of severance and compensation, which includes bonuses and stock vesting, prior to the takeover. Moreover, others were given what Bloom called an “illegal ultimatum” — asking workers to take a three months severance deal if they weren’t willing to stay on as part of Musk’s “hardcore” workforce. Bloom said Twitter is in reported violation of a federal labor law, known as the WARN Act, which requires advance notice of termination before separation from the company actually takes place. If found in violation of this law, Twitter could owe penalties of $500 per employee per day.
