Twitter seeks dismissal of bonus lawsuit

Update:

• Twitter asked a California federal judge to throw out a class action lawsuit because it fails to state a proper claim of how the company breached the employee contract or a proper promissory estoppel claim.
• Twitter also claims it is up to the company’s discretion to fund the Global Discretionary Performance Bonus Plan and it can change the amount in the bonus pool at any time.
• Twitter claims it has a right to remove any employee from the performance bonus plan at any time, so plaintiff Mark Schobinger and the class do not have a right to a performance bonus.

Twitter class action overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Mark Schobinger has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Twitter employees against Twitter Inc. and X Corp. 
• Why: Schobinger claims Twitter employees were promised annual bonuses at the end of 2022 based upon a company target, but the bonus was never paid.
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in federal court in California.

(June 22, 2023)

Plaintiff Mark Schobinger filed a class action lawsuit against Twitter Inc. and X Corp., claiming the company promised to pay employees end-of-year bonuses in 2022 but never actually paid the bonuses.

Schobinger, the former senior director of compensation at Twitter, said that both before and after Elon Musk acquired the company in October 2022, the company maintained it would be paying the bonus at 50% of its target based on company performance during the year.

Twitter employees, like Schobinger, remained at the company because of the promised Twitter bonuses and were then left without the additional compensation. Schobinger specifically said Twitter Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal promised employees in an all-hands meeting leading up to the acquisition that the bonuses would be paid at 50% of their target.

“This promise was repeated following Musk’s acquisition,” the Twitter class action states. “Plaintiff and other Twitter employees relied upon the promise that they would receive their 2022 bonus when choosing to remain employed by Twitter following Musk’s acquisition of the company and/or deciding to forgo other employment opportunities.”

Class seeks compensatory damages for Twitter bonuses, along with interest and further relief

The class is asking for compensatory damages for the lack of Twitter bonuses, as well as interest paid for before and after the judgment along with any other further relief available for breach of contract.

A California federal judge ruled in January that five Twitter employees could not fight their claims against the company in a class action and would instead need to fight each of their cases individually.

Have you ever been promised a bonus that you did not receive? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Shannon Liss-Riordan and Bradley Manewith of Lichten and Liss-Riordan, P.C.

The Twitter employee class action lawsuit is Schobinger v. Twitter Inc., et al., Case No.  3:23-cv-03007-LB, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California San Francisco Division.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• UPS workers reach tentative deal for air conditioning in trucks
• Hershey lawsuit claims company fired employees for requesting religious COVID vaccine exemptions
• Ukrainian, Afghan parolees class action claims workers deserve employment authorization fee reimbursement
• Job satisfaction reaches high in 2022, survey finds