Elon Musk loses legal battle with former Twitter employee

The arbitration resolution of the dispute came nearly two years after Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion and immediately laid off more than half of its employees.

The move sparked more than 2,000 complaints from former employees claiming they were shortchanged on pay. The victory in Friday's case could set a precedent for thousands of former employees who have initiated similar arbitration proceedings.

“The arbitrator has awarded our client the full settlement,” attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan said Monday in the memo, which was obtained by two former Twitter employees who asked not to be anonymous and did not disclose confidential information. “We are pleased with this development and hope it is a harbinger of more good news to come.”

Liss-Riordan declined to comment on or disclose the arbitrator's written decision following her client's closed hearing before a private judge.

X did not respond to a request for comment.

In July, Musk and X Corp. – the name under which the billionaire rebranded Twitter – fought off a lawsuit alleging that about 6,000 laid-off employees were owed at least $500 million in severance pay under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

In the memo, Liss-Riordan said that 15 cases had been referred to arbitration and that she expected more rulings in the coming months.

“We hope that if further rulings are made, Twitter/X will be willing to come to the negotiating table and negotiate a settlement for everyone,” she wrote.