Former Twitter employee wins $600,000 unfair dismissal claim
A former Twitter director has won Ireland’s largest ever unfair dismissal payout, after the country’s Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreed that an employee had not confirmed his ‘commitment’ with the company in an email sent to him by owner, Elon Musk, could not be considered as having resigned. The employee – Gary Rooney – who had been with the company since 2013, was the company’s director of procurement at Twitter International in Dublin, and was dismissed shortly after Musk took over X (formerly known as Twitter). After the acquisition, Musk sent an email to employees outlining his vision for “Twitter 2.0,” which included long hours and high-intensity work. “Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore,” Musk wrote in the email as quoted by The Guardian. The email asked employees to confirm their commitment by clicking a link, with those who did not respond being offered three months’ severance pay. Rooney was one of the employees who did not click “yes” on the link provided in the message. He received an email three days later from Twitter acknowledging his “decision to resign” and confirming his acceptance of a voluntary separation offer. Rooney contested this, testifying that he initially believed Musk’s email was spam or malware and was afraid to open it. Twitter argued that Rooney’s failure to respond to Musk’s email constituted voluntary resignation. According to Lauren Wegman, Twitter’s senior director of human resources, the company accepted the resignations of 35 employees who did not click “yes” to Musk’s email. A total of 270 people received the message. The WRC, however, rejected this claim, with WRC adjudicator Michael MacNamee ruling that the 24-hour notice period provided in Musk’s email was not “reasonable.”
IKEA expands use of AI drones to improve employee wellbeing
The king of flat-packs – IKEA – has announced it is to expand its use of AI-powered drones – all in the name of better employee wellbeing and safety. IKEA claims the drones – which will photograph product storage in warehouses along pre-designated paths – will allow for continuous inventory checking, and will also mean it can identify new areas for storage more safely, without employees having to scale tall heights. It says wellbeing will also be improved through minimizing repetitive strain, and injury risks for workers, allowing them to concentrate on other tasks. The drone system, which has been developed in collaboration with AI and robotics provider, Verity, will be deployed in Europe and North America, starting with the Distribution Centre Perryville, IKEA US. This development follows a successful year of testing at the Winterslag Distribution Centre in Belgium. “Implementing a solution that truly makes a difference in our warehouses is an immensely rewarding experience,” said Tommy Niemierowski, fulfilment project implementation manager at IKEA Belgium. He added: “The installation process itself is relatively straightforward, and the reward is monumental, as it facilitates collaboration amongst various stakeholders.”
Illinois enacts anti-AI discrimination legislation
Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker has signed into law several AI-related bills, which amend the Illinois Human Rights Act to protect employees against discrimination from, and require transparency about, the use of AI in employment-related decisions. Under the so-called HB 3773 act, an employer cannot use AI that has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination based on a protected class with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, discharge, discipline, or the terms, privileges, or conditions of employment. In addition, the Act prohibits employers from using zip codes as a proxy for protected classes. Illinois employers must notify employees of the use of AI to make or aid in making employment-related decisions. HB 3773 applies to any person employing one or more employees within Illinois. In signing the legislation, Illinois joins Colorado, which in May put through similar laws addressing algorithmic discrimination in private sector use of AI systems. Here, it also imposed obligations on Colorado employers around disclosing their use of AI to employees and applicants. HB 3773 allows Illinois employees to seek relief under the state’s Human Rights Act for discrimination arising from their employer’s use of an AI system. Colorado and Illinois are currently the only US jurisdictions that regulate an employer’s use of AI systems.
Shake Shack customer claims staff members punched him for being gay
A gay man has accused employees at a Shake Shack store in Washington DC of beating him while dinning there. Christian Dingus, 28, who was with his partner and a group of friends, claims he was attacked for kissing his boyfriend. After kissing his partner he says a worker came up to him and his boyfriend and said that “you can’t be doing that here, can’t do that type of stuff here.” When Dingus’s partner became upset, he was “escorted out of the restaurant,” and when Dingus stepped in to defend him, he said “they [the employees there] all just kind of started attacking me at that point, dragging me back through the floor and continuously punching me in my head.” Video of the alleged assault taken by a Shake Shack patron and later given to Dingus appears to show a man being shoved as two others in black Shake Shack T-shirts punched at his head. Two more people appear, also in Shake Shack shirts, but it’s unclear what follows. Police are investigating the case as a hate crime and have classified the offense as a simple assault, with an anti-gay bias motivation. A Shake Shack spokesperson said that the team members involved have been suspended pending further review and that the company is cooperating with authorities.
Texas ranked 49th out of 50 states for female equality at work
The state of Texas has been given the ignominy of being ranked 49th out of 50 in the 2024 Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality report. The study – which evaluates states across 17 key indicators, including income gaps, executive position disparities, and unemployment rates between men and women – found that Texas ranked 21st for earnings gaps; 32nd for its gender gaps in executive positions and 22nd in terms of the difference in hours worked between men and women. At 40th place, Texas also shows a significant disparity in unemployment rates between genders and only modest progress in rates of female entrepreneurship. Commenting on the data, the finding’s author said: “The workplace provides even more evidence of inequality. Despite advances toward social equality, women are disproportionately underrepresented in leadership positions.” It added: “Women make up more than 50% of the population but constitute only around 28% of legislators and 9% of S&P 500 CEOs.” With the US (as a whole), only ranking 43rd worldwide for gender equality, the report called for urgent policy interventions and societal changes to address these disparities.
Thousands of AT&T workers on strike over labor conditions
Thousands of AT&T workers have said they will strike until further notice after workers claim the telecommunications company has refused to bargain with them around working conditions in good faith. Staff are reportedly wanting better pay, enhanced benefits and safer working conditions, and according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the strike is in protest at the company dragging its heals in negotiations. ”In 2019 [our last contract negotiation], we were here, on a ULP strike for the same reason, and here we are again,” said Marshall Boswell, a facility tech at AT&T. Randall Laplant, CWA Local 3806 executive board member added: ”We are on strike at all work centers until further notice, until they come to the table and bargain fairly.” The action means that some 17,000 AT&T technicians, customer services reps, and other employees are on strike across several states. Workers’ contracts officially ended on 3rd August. Said Laplant: ”We’re fathers, mothers, and sons and daughters and…husbands and wives, and we support our families through this.” He added: “We just want them to come to the table in good faith and bargain in good faith to give us the contract we deserve.” In response an AT&T statement said: “CWA’s claims of unfair labor practices are not grounded in fact. We have been engaged in substantive bargaining since day one and are eager to reach an agreement that benefits our hard-working employees.” It added: “We’re disappointed that union leaders would call for a strike at this point in the negotiations rather than directing their energies toward constructive discussions at the bargaining table.”
Walmart employees follow customers to cut theft, claims former staffer
A former Walmart employee has revealed on TikTok that the retail giant pays workers to secretly snoop on customers, in order to cut down of thefts. TikTok user, Bigbagspenny616, claims that when he worked at the company, he was a ‘floorwalker’ responsible for hunting theft. He claims floor walkers start stalking customers in the parking lot and continue to follow them as they shop in the store. “The very first thing you want to look out for is that we’re always stationed in our cars, and when you pull in, that’s when we get to go ahead to follow you into the store,” he said in his video. “This gives the illusion that we arrived at the store the same time as you did.” The video, posted last week, has already been seen more than 710,000 times, and in it, the ex-employee claims each floorwalker has one prime suspect that they follow around. He said that between 50-200 customers can be targeted at each store, each day. The TikToker also claimed that floor walkers are “all over the place,” and that they work together and communicate with each other through earbuds. They are also instructed to film shoppers who are suspected of stealing. He said: “If you’re suspected of any kind of theft, we are mandated to film you, then watch you put your groceries away, just in case later on we have to use this in court.” According to a recent report for Gitnux, Walmart loses $3 billion per year due to theft.