Musk’s ban on remote work at X withstands disability bias accusation

A federal judge in California dismissed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing social media platform X of disability discrimination following Elon Musk’s takeover and subsequent ban on remote work.

The ruling, delivered by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in San Francisco, addressed claims made by Dmitry Borodaenko, a former employee of the company.

Judge rules ban on remote work

The lawsuit, proposed as a class action in 2022, was filed by Borodaenko, a former engineering manager and cancer survivor.

Borodaenko alleged that he was terminated shortly after Musk’s acquisition of the platform, previously known as Twitter, for refusing to comply with the mandate to return to the office during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The suit claimed that X violated federal laws requiring reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities.

Judge Martinez-Olguin found that Borodaenko had not sufficiently demonstrated how the remote work ban specifically affected employees with disabilities.

In her ruling, the judge stated that Borodaenko’s argument relied on the incorrect assumption that all employees with disabilities inherently required remote work as a reasonable accommodation. She has given Borodaenko four weeks to amend his lawsuit with more detailed allegations.

Elon Musk’s stance on remote work

In November 2022, Musk issued a memo to X’s staff, urging employees to be prepared for “long hours at high intensity” or to leave the company. He later expressed his belief that working from home was “morally wrong.”

This directive was part of a broader shift in company policy under Musk’s leadership, which included a significant reduction in remote work options.

Despite these policy changes, Judge Martinez-Olguin determined that the remote work ban itself did not amount to disability discrimination.

The judge’s ruling focused on the specific claims made in Borodaenko’s lawsuit and did not address broader implications for all employees with disabilities.

Ongoing legal challenges for X

Borodaenko’s case is one of several legal challenges faced by X following Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the company.

Other lawsuits from former employees have addressed issues such as the lack of advance notice before layoffs, unpaid severance, and allegations of discriminatory job cuts targeting women and older workers. X has denied any wrongdoing in these cases.

Some of these lawsuits have already been dismissed, with appeals from plaintiffs currently pending. The resolution of these cases could have significant implications for how employment practices and company policies are scrutinized under new leadership.

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