Elon Musk’s Twitter Sued For Race Discrimination During Mass Layoffs

Seven former employees are suing Twitter – rebranded as X – alleging that the company’s mass layoffs unfairly impacted employees with protected characteristics, including Black employees.

The Lawsuits

The complaints were filed in federal court in Oakland, California, after claims that Twitter violated America’s Family Medical Leave Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Omolade Ogunsanya is among the seven suing Twitter.  According to the lawsuit seen by Rolling Stone, he alleged that his firing was “the product of unlawful race-based discrimination against Black employees.”

Ogunsanya worked for the company for two years before he was terminated.

“This is not surprising given Musk’s history of support for racist groups and hate speech directed at Black people, which demonstrate his discriminatory animus against Black individuals,” the lawsuit claims.

It also cites Musk’s decision to reinstate previously banned racists and white supremacists on the platform.

Read: Elon Musk’s Twitter Team Ignore Former African Employees Who Are Owed Severance Payments

The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) shared last year that the number of tweets using the N-word had increased by 500% more in 12 hours following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

Other employees are also suing Twitter (X) for allegedly discriminating against them based on sex, age and for taking medical leave.

Musk and Discrimination

Musk’s Tesla company was also found this year to have failed to prevent severe racial harassment at its flagship assembly plant in Fremont, California.

Tesla was ordered to pay Owen Diaz, a Black former worker at Tesla’s Fremont factory, $175,000 in damages for emotional distress and $3 million in punitive damages.

Tesla faced at least ten lawsuits from different workers alleging the workplace embraced a culture that encouraged racial discrimination and sexual harassment.