Meta faces a lawsuit from 26 current and former employees alleging an AI system disproportionately selected individuals on protected medical or family leave for a round of layoffs in May 2026. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oakland, seeks to halt the layoffs and compel an audit of Meta's AI processes.

A group of 26 current and former Meta employees has filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging that the company utilized an AI-based system to select individuals for layoffs in May 2026, unfairly targeting those on protected medical or family leave. This legal action, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, presents a significant challenge to Meta's workforce reduction practices and the growing role of artificial intelligence in corporate human resources.

The lawsuit claims Meta's internal AI tools, which reportedly monitor employee activity and performance, created metrics that inherently disadvantaged workers who were on approved leave, leading to their disproportionate selection for termination. The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent their employment separations from being finalized, and to mandate an independent audit of the algorithmically-assisted selection process. While the case has been assigned to Judge William Orrick, the specific case number remains conflicting across reports, and the attorneys representing the anonymous plaintiffs have not been publicly identified.

Meta has denied the allegations. A spokesperson for the company stated, "Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI," adding that "These claims lack merit and are not based on facts." The lawsuit alleges violations of several federal and state laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. This legal battle emerges against a backdrop of wider industry concern regarding algorithmic bias and the ethical deployment of AI in critical employment decisions, with this suit impacting one of the roughly 8,000 employees affected by Meta's May layoffs. The outcome will likely influence how tech companies approach AI integration in sensitive HR functions.