COUGH IT UP

Twitter Sued by Ex-Employees Who Say Company Owes $500M in Severance

Courtney McMillian says most employees did not receive any type of severance when they were laid off, and even those that did got only one month of pay.

A former Twitter employee filed a class action lawsuit on Wednesday accusing the social media platform of failing to pay at least $500 million in severance to thousands of workers laid off after Elon Musk took over as the social media company’s new owner. Under Twitter’s 2019 severance plan, Courtney McMillian—who oversaw the company’s employees benefits programs—claims laid off employees were promised at least two months of their base pay plus one week of pay for each full year of service. For some more senior employees, that rate was supposed to be six months of base pay, according to the lawsuit. McMillian says most employees did not receive any type of severance when they were laid off, and even those that did got only one month of pay. Twitter responded to Reuters’ request for comment with its infamous poop emoji for members of the press.