22-6-2023 (SAN FRANSCISCO) Social media giant Twitter Inc. is confronted with yet another lawsuit, this time over allegations of failing to fulfill promised bonuses to its employees, resulting in millions of dollars going unpaid. The legal action adds to the growing number of court cases that have been filed since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company.
Mark Schobinger, former senior director of compensation at Twitter who recently left the company, lodged the proposed class action in a federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday (June 20).
According to Schobinger, both before and after Musk’s purchase of Twitter last year, the company assured employees that they would receive 50% of their target bonuses for 2022. However, the lawsuit contends that these payments were never made, accusing Twitter of breaching its contractual obligations.
Twitter, also referred to as X Corp, no longer maintains a media relations office. In response to a request for comment on the lawsuit, the company offered a single response: a poop emoji.
Representing Schobinger, attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan is involved in multiple other lawsuits on behalf of former Twitter employees, as well as approximately 2,000 individual arbitration cases stemming from mass layoffs implemented by Musk last year.
The previous cases against Twitter allege various violations, including failure to provide promised severance packages and discriminatory practices against female employees and individuals with disabilities during the layoffs. Twitter has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
In addition to the employee-related lawsuits, numerous landlords, vendors, and consultants have taken legal action against Twitter, seeking payment for outstanding bills that were inherited by Musk upon his acquisition of the company.
Twitter is also facing a lawsuit in Delaware filed by three former executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal. The executives claim that Twitter reneged on its obligation to reimburse over US$1 million (S$1.34 million) in legal fees they incurred while responding to requests from government regulators.
