Trial lawyer fighting for victims of discrimination, harassment and abuse. Probable target for Twitter takedown. IG: LisaBloomEsq TikTok: LisaBloomAttorney
BREAKING: We just filed an important new lawsuit on behalf of “contract” Twitter employees who were laid off and left with no severance pay that was promised to them when Elon Musk acquired the social media company. My statement:
Hey Twitter employees getting laid off tomorrow! IMPORTANT INFO from a CA employment attorney (me):
CA's "WARN" law requires Twitter to give you 60 days notice of a massive layoff.
A layoff of 50+ employees within a 30 day period qualifies.
I know you didn't get that notice.
Let’s talk about the legal problems Elon just created for himself with this cruel new staff email.
You’re fired if you don’t commit to long hours at high intensity within 24 hours?
Let’s start with disabled workers.
Predator Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. On behalf of the victims I represent, we would have preferred he lived to face justice.
Our civil cases can still proceed against his estate. Victims deserve to be made whole for the lifelong damage he caused. We’re just getting started.
Twitter will be liable for all of these (civil penalties, lost compensation, lost medical and other benefits) & attorneys' fees for the 60 days it failed to give workers notice.
This flagrant violation of workers rights is outrageous.
Who's in for a class action? LET'S DO THIS
This WARN law applies to all California employers of 75+ employees, which obviously includes Twitter with its thousands of employees.
Purpose of the law is to give laid off employees time to figure out how to handle this disruption.
And Elon completely ignores it.
We'll see how long Twitter lets my posts stay up. If they take them down tonight, before the layoffs, that means they were on notice of the law I cite and chose to punish me rather than follow it.
That's consciousness of guilt and I'd use it as the basis for punitive damages.
Employees laid off in violation of the WARN Act receive back pay at the employee's final rate or 3 year average of compensation, whichever is higher. Twitter would also be liable for workers' medical expenses that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan.
Employers like Twitter who violate the WARN Act face civil penalties of $500/day for each violation. With thousands of employees, this could be significant, though maybe not to Elon.
We interrupt the news about the Monterey Park mass shooting to cover the Half Moon Bay mass shooting.
Because we have lost our fucking minds.
The Second Amendment, like slavery and subjugation of women, was one of our founders’ worst 18th century ideas.
Repeal it.
Update: Twitter HR is now telling everyone who does not sign the ridiculous new pledge they have resigned. Employment law does not work that way. You cannot deprive people of unemployment benefits and wrongful termination cases by saying that they resigned. Nice try though!
Twitter employees, DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING when you're laid off.
Consult with an attorney first.
Buried in the fine print may be a waiver of your rights under CA and federal law.
Those rights are important and valuable!
#TwitterLayoffs
Also, CA's strong antidiscrimination laws apply to Twitter's big layoff tomorrow. Are people of color, women and/or older workers disproportionately chosen, for example?
This was done so hastily, so slapdash, so that the world's richest man can get even richer faster.
I'm now in contact with many Twitter workers who reached out to me about a class action lawsuit overnight.
You had the right to 60 days notice under federal and state WARN Acts.
You didn't get it.
Mr. Musk, the storm is coming.
#TwitterLayoffs
Finally, let’s just talk about how cruel it is to force everyone to opt in to these ridiculous terms within 24 hours or be fired.
Workers depend on their jobs. Their livelihood is not a game to be toyed with by a billionaire bully.
#TwitterLayoffs
Twitter workers, many of whom I represent, were FINALLY given their "severance agreements" on Saturday.
They are really settlement agreements which SILENCE WORKERS FOR LIFE and and require them to give up important legal rights.
Let's discuss. 1/
Third, Elon says those who opt out will get three month’s severance.
He promised that by tweet to the thousands of Twitter employees he fired weeks ago. Yet it has still not materialized.
My clients, fired Twitter workers, and I intend to enforce that promise.
#TwitterLayoffs
Under federal and state laws, those with physical or mental disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations by their employers. For many, this would include working reasonable hours.
@elonmusk
are you planning a mass layoff of your remaining disabled workers?
Next, childcare still overwhelmingly disproportionately impacts female workers, for whom working long hours on a regular basis is often just a hard no.
So we have a gender discrimination issue too.
#TwitterLayoffs
Women who say no to a man’s request, no matter how calmly or politely, are often falsely accused of anger or yelling. It’s happened to me many times. Especially true for women of color. Luckily there’s a video here.
@IlhanMN
is owed an apology.
Fourth, workers over 40 get 21-45 days to consider releasing claims, which would be part of that “severance” he’s talking about.
Not 24 hours.
#TwitterLayoffs
Jeffrey Epstein’s pilot just testified that the following were on board Jeffrey Epstein’s private planes:
Prince Andrew
Donald Trump
Bill Clinton
Violinist Itzhak Perlman
Astronaut John Glenn
If you were wondering whether big names would be coming into this trial, we now know.
Correct. When I was a full-time TV anchorwoman I looked into this and immediately learned I could not deduct hair or makeup expenses. The IRS was very clear on this.
Yet the clown got away with it
I am calling today for the administrators of Jeffrey Epstein’s estate to freeze all his assets and hold them for his victims who are filing civil cases. Their lives have been shattered by his sexual assaults, their careers derailed. They deserve full and fair compensation NOW.
Most shocking to me is that Prince Andrew's attorney wanted the judge to say NY's law giving child sexual abuse victims more time to sue is unconstitutional.
This would have blocked access to justice for so many victims.
Does the Queen know what her son is attempting to do?
And the coup de grace: Twitter workers who sign the agreement promise nondisparagement: they may not say anything negative about Twitter, nor its management, nor Elon.
EVER.
FOR LIFE.
No wonder so many folks are reaching out to me about rejecting this and filing claims.
6/
LIVE now: Prince Andrew’s attorney is arguing that Virginia Giuffre’s case against him should be dismissed due to a 2009 settlement agreement in which she released all “potential defendants.”
Judge Kaplan aggressively questioning him about the law on this.
I’m listening in.
At the same time, workers who sign Twitter's severance agreement promise to assist Twitter in any lawsuit or investigation.
So workers can help Twitter, but not their former colleagues. Again, for LIFE.
Elon Musk, free speech guy, allows workers to speak only to one side.
5/
I wish I had evolved in the last ten years as much as
@JoyAnnReid
has.
I've said some dumb things too. And made embarrassing mistakes. And apologized for them.
And therefore, when people sincerely apologize, I accept them and move on.
Thank you
@MSNBC
for standing by Joy.
I believe you, Tara Reade.
You have people who remember you told them about this decades ago.
We know he is "handsy."
You're not asking for $.
You've obviously struggled mightily with this.
I still have to fight Trump, so I will still support Joe.
But I believe you. And I'm sorry
“They just discounted me. They marginalized me. They said they didn’t believe me.”
Tara Reade, who accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, feels betrayed by Democrats who have discounted her story
Every worker can decide what's best for them, but many are rejecting these obnoxious terms.
Good summary of what's happening here.
My DMs are open. We are happy to talk to tweeps for free and confidentially, and have an informational Zoom 2pm PT today.
@AlSultan_Meriam
@deray
That doesn't get them off the hook under the WARN Act. Nor the antidiscrimination laws. These apply to all workers, including at will employees.
Virginia Giuffre's settlement agreement with Jeffrey Epstein was released today. Prince Andrew argues that her settlement with Epstein releases him as well, and therefore her case against him should be dismissed.
I've done hundreds of these over 35 years
Here's why he is wrong
Elizabeth Warren is my top choice, but Pete Buttigieg is right, we don't need purity tests. Who cares if he had a fundraiser in a wine cave? Our country is currently run by a whining cave man. Take any legal money you can raise and beat him in November.
Prince Andrew's attorney now arguing the NY law extending the statute of limitations to give victims of child sexual abuse more time to sue is unconstitutional.
He doesn't just want to block Virginia's access to justice. He wants to block ALL child sexual abuse victims' access.
On the day of her grandmother’s funeral, Dr. Ford took her polygraph. Despite a fear of flying, she took 2 cross country flights to handle this. Despite tremendous anxiety at every step, she kept making calls. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s going forward despite it.
Attorneys like me for employees are often out there begging folks to just give us truthful information to help our underdog clients. This restriction will severely hamper efforts for workers to get justice against Twitter.
Why is this company so afraid of the truth?
4/
The Epstein accusers I represent and I don’t wish suicide upon anyone, not even a recidivist predator who has tricked and hurt so many women. We want him to stay alive to face the justice and accountability which is so long overdue. And it’s coming.
First, any worker who wants to bring a claim, for Twitter's broken promises, discrimination, fraud etc. (the claims we are filing), SIGNS AWAY THE RIGHT TO SUE FOREVER under this agreement.
No lawsuit, no arbitration if you sign.
So it's really a settlement agreement. 2/
I represent a new Jeffrey Epstein accuser and am talking with several more. This case is a legal morass on the criminal and civil side, but justice is attainable. I encourage everyone to reach out for legal advice as to options to bring this monster to justice. Harrowing stories.
Under this agreement workers promise not to provide assistance or cooperation to ANYONE with a dispute against Twitter.
If you were a victim of age discrimination, e.g., and are willing to provide truthful info to another victim -- you CAN'T if you sign. Ever. For life.
3/
As we learn about the
#MAGABomber
attacks on progressives today, remember: right wing terrorism in the US has long been far more deadly than radical Muslim terror here.
Prince Andrew's attorney says Virginia "took advantage" of extended statute of limitations, waiting 5 days before the deadline, which is "inherently unjust."
Oh please. She filed before the deadline. That's all that should matter.
I had to advise two women today that if they speak out about their sexual assaults, they can be sued.
Even if they don't name their abuser.
Even if they don't identify him by job or relationship.
One wept at being silenced.
The fallout from Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard.
Few women of color have achieved TV news anchor prominence and I won't sit idly by while Joy Reid is attacked.
She released her cybersecurity expert's statement that 5 MONTHS AGO he found evidence of her old blog being hacked. BEFORE this latest round of posts attributed to her.
Prince Andrew has now done a complete reversal of his prior position that he would fully cooperate with any investigation into sexual abuse in Epstein's orbit.
The 3 Bill Cosby accusers I represent and I are disgusted that he is a free man today.
He is not released because he is innocent.
He is released because a prosecutor promised him years ago that he would not be brought to justice, without even making a deal for him to do time.
Likely that both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh believe they are telling the truth. Ford because she is, and could never forget that awful night. Kavanaugh as it was no big deal to him at the time, easily forgettable. This is how assaulters think. I've seen it in many of my cases.