Meta sued for AI-driven layoffs targeting employees on protected leave

The 21-count complaint invokes the Family and Medical Leave Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and a range of state laws across California, Washington, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, and the District of Columbia.

It also cites California’s newly effective regulations on automated-decision systems, which took effect on 1 October 2025.

Review of AI selection process sought

Because Meta’s employment agreements require individual arbitration, plaintiffs are not seeking class-wide relief.

Instead, they are asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction halting their terminations pending an independent audit of the AI selection process, with individual claims to proceed in arbitration.

Meta has denied the allegations. A spokesperson told CNBC that the “claims lack merit and are not based on facts.”