Twitter refuses to pay for arbitration it forced on 891 ex-employees, suit says

Enlarge (credit: Anadolu Agency / Contributor | Anadolu)

Twitter started this year with a legal victory that forced thousands of laid-off employees into arbitration. These employees had been suing over grievances like unpaid severance and discrimination, and the win spared Twitter from facing a class-action lawsuit. Now, hundreds of ex-employees have sued again, this time alleging in a class-action claim that "Twitter has refused to engage in arbitration—despite having compelled employees to arbitrate their claims."

According to the complaint, filed Monday in a San Francisco federal court, Twitter won't come to the table simply because the company doesn't want to pay for arbitration. Its arbitration agreements require ex-employees to pay a nominal filing fee to launch claims with the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS), but after that, Twitter has to pay "all other arbitration fees."

Faced with paying perhaps millions in fees for approximately 2,000 laid-off employees, Twitter allegedly sent a letter to JAMS in early June, requesting that the fees instead be split between parties.