U.S. District Judge James Donato ruled that five former Twitter employees pursuing a proposed class action accusing the company of failing to give adequate notice before laying them off after its acquisition by Elon Musk must pursue their claims in private arbitration. The judge cited agreements the employees signed with the company for his decision.
Donato also left the possibility open for the entire class action lawsuit to be dismissed later if necessary, noting that three other former Twitter employees who had opted out of the company's arbitration agreement had joined the lawsuit after it was first filed.
Last year, Donato ruled that Twitter must notify the thousands of workers laid off after Musk's acquisition and give them "a succinct and worded notice" before asking them to sign severance agreements waiving their ability to sue the company.