Judge: X can be sued for age discrimination

A San Francisco judge ruled late Tuesday that former Twitter workers who believe they were fired for age discrimination can sue X as a class.

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the more than 150 workers mentioned in the complaint have enough in common to be considered a class. This means that X could be liable for a class-action lawsuit levied by the former employees.

The complaint, brought by plaintiff John Zeman in 2023, stems from layoffs at Twitter in late 2022. After billionaire Elon Musk took over the company, he oversaw massive cuts to staff, including entire departments.

The layoffs were followed by a string of lawsuits from former employees alleging discrimination. According to Mr. Zeman, Twitter, now called X, cut nearly 60% of employees older than 50 and nearly 67% of employees older than 60 compared to only 54% of workers younger than 50.

X nas vehemently denied allegations of discrimination, especially regarding the 2022 layoffs. According to X, Mr. Musk cut entire departments regardless of age, race, sex or gender. For example, the company said, X eliminated the entirety of Twitter’s communications department, where Mr. Zeman worked.

Tuesday’s ruling is a significant victory for former Twitter employees. X has faced nearly a dozen lawsuits related to workplace discrimination since the mass layoffs, with most still in litigation. Earlier this year, judges dismissed two lawsuits alleging X discriminated against its disabled and women employees.