Former Twitter employees file lawsuit accusing company of stalling arbitration agreements

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Twitter arbitration class action overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Fabien Ho Ching Ma filed a class action lawsuit against Twitter Inc. and X Corp. 
• Why: Ho Ching Ma claims Twitter has declined to fulfill its obligations to pay for arbitration hearings and has prevented them from happening.
• Where: The Twitter arbitration class action was filed in federal court in California.

Plaintiff Fabien Ho Ching Ma filed a class action lawsuit against Twitter Inc. and X Corp., claiming the company agreed to arbitration with approximately 2,000 employees who filed complaints but has not agreed to pay for the arbitration, and thus, those meetings have been canceled.

The company laid off, terminated or constructively discharged at least 75% of its workforce after Elon Musk purchased the company in April 2022, the Twitter arbitration class action claims.

“These employees have made various claims against the company concerning their separations from Twitter, including claims related to unpaid severance payments, discrimination, and other legal obligations that Twitter has refused to comply with,” the Twitter lawsuit claims.

That led the company to agree to have those claims be heard through arbitration. After the 2,000 employees filed arbitration claims, however, Twitter objected to paying for the arbitration.

“Despite knowing that JAMS rules require employers to pay the full arbitrator fees in employment cases under the Minimum Standards, Twitter submitted a letter to JAMS’ General Counsel, Sheri Eisner, requesting that all arbitration fees be split equally among the parties (in all states other than California and a few other states, including Nevada and Oregon),” the Twitter lawsuit claims.

Twitter should start arbitration with 2,000 employees and pay, arbitration class action says

The plaintiff is asking the court to force Twitter to begin arbitration and follow the set rules by paying for those arbitration proceedings.

Twitter is also facing a class action lawsuit that claims it promised end-of-year bonuses at the end of 2022 but never paid out those bonuses despite ensuring employees throughout the year that, even with Musk’s takeover, the bonus payments would be made.

Has your employee not followed through on promises to you? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Shannon Liss-Riordan, Thomas Fowler and Bradley Manewith of Lichten and Liss-Riordan PC.

The Twitter arbitration class action lawsuit is Ho Ching Ma v. Twitter Inc., et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-03301-SK, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California San Francisco Division.

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