Artificial intelligence is already changing how employers recruit, hire, monitor, evaluate, and manage workers. Now, workers are asking a new question: Can AI decide if I get laid off?
A recent lawsuit against Meta has brought this issue into the spotlight. According to news reports, a group of employees alleged that Meta used AI-assisted systems, performance rankings, activity data, and other metrics in a layoff process that disproportionately selected workers who had taken medical, parental, pregnancy-related, or family leave. Meta has denied the allegations and has said that people, not AI, made the decisions.
Regardless of how that case is ultimately resolved, employers that use AI or automated tools to make layoff decisions still have to comply with the law.
The short answer
AI may be used as part of a layoff process, but it can’t be used as a shield for discrimination, retaliation, or unlawful decision-making.
Massachusetts law does not currently ban employers from using AI or automated tools in employment decisions, but employers are still responsible for the decisions they make. If an AI tool, productivity metric, scoring system, or automated ranking process penalizes workers because of protected leave, disability, pregnancy, age, race, sex, or another protected characteristic, the employer may still face legal risk.
In other words, “the algorithm made the decision” is not a free pass.
How AI can affect layoff decisions
When people think about AI at work, they often think about chatbots or resume-screening tools, but employers may use automated systems in other ways.
For example, AI or algorithmic tools may be used to evaluate:
- Performance ratings
- Productivity or activity data
- Attendance or availability
- Manager feedback
- Skills, role alignment, or “future fit”
In a layoff, an employer might combine some of these data points to rank employees or identify roles for elimination. The problem is that data doesn’t always tell the full story.
If the system doesn’t account for those facts, it may turn protected leave, disability accommodations, pregnancy, caregiving responsibilities, or other legally protected circumstances into a hidden penalty.
Massachusetts law still applies
Massachusetts workers have strong workplace protections, and those protections do not disappear because an employer uses AI.
Under Massachusetts anti-discrimination law, employers may not discriminate against employees based on protected characteristics such as race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, age, disability, genetic information, military status, or other protected categories.
That means an employer can’t use AI to make decisions that intentionally discriminate against protected workers. It also means an employer may face legal risk if a supposedly neutral layoff process disproportionately harms workers in a protected group and the employer cannot justify the process.
For example, a layoff system could raise concerns if it disproportionately selects:
- Older workers
- Pregnant workers
- Workers who recently took parental leave
- Workers with disabilities
- Workers who requested accommodations
- Workers of a particular race, sex, national origin, or other protected class
- Workers who recently complained about discrimination or harassment
- Workers who exercised protected legal rights
What about medical leave or parental leave?
This is one of the biggest concerns with AI-driven layoff decisions.
In Massachusetts, workers may have rights under several leave-related laws, including the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave, Massachusetts disability discrimination law, and Massachusetts pregnancy-related protections.
Under Massachusetts PFML, employees are generally protected from retaliation for exercising their rights. A negative change in employment during leave or within six months after leave can raise serious legal concerns.
That doesn’t mean an employee on leave can never be laid off. If a company has a legitimate reduction in force and the employee’s position would have been eliminated regardless of the leave, the layoff may be lawful.
But an employer cannot select someone for layoff because they took leave, requested leave, needed an accommodation, were pregnant, had a disability, or used protected time away from work.
That is where AI can create risk. If the system measures output during a period when someone was lawfully out on leave, or treats leave-related absences as poor performance, the employer may be relying on a process that penalizes legally protected conduct.
“The algorithm picked me” is not the end of the conversation
Employees often feel powerless when a decision is described as data-driven or automated. But workers shouldn’t assume the decision is untouchable just because a computer system was involved.
AI tools are built by people. They use data selected by people. They are implemented by companies. They can reflect human bias, incomplete data, flawed assumptions, or unfair criteria.
For example, an AI-supported layoff process may be problematic if it relies on:
- Productivity data that does not account for approved leave
- Attendance data that includes protected absences
- Performance ratings affected by bias, disability, pregnancy, or retaliation
- Vague scores like “culture fit,” “future fit,” or “alignment”
- Data from a period when the employee was on protected leave or working with an accommodation
In other words, the question is not only whether AI was used. The better question is whether the layoff process was fair, lawful, and based on legitimate business reasons.
Signs your layoff may deserve closer review
Not every layoff is illegal. Employers are generally allowed to restructure, reduce headcount, eliminate positions, and make business decisions.
- You were selected soon after taking or requesting medical, parental, pregnancy-related, or family leave.
- You were selected soon after requesting a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation.
- You were selected after reporting discrimination, harassment, wage issues, safety concerns, or other legal violations.
- Your recent performance reviews were positive, but the company now says performance was the reason.
- The company relied on vague terms like “low impact,” “poor fit,” or “not aligned” without explaining what they mean.
- Workers who took leave, used accommodations, or shared a protected characteristic appear to have been selected at higher rates.
- You were asked to sign a severance agreement quickly in exchange for releasing legal claims.
These signs don’t automatically mean the layoff was unlawful. But they may mean it’s worth asking questions before signing anything.
What should Massachusetts workers do if AI may have played a role?
- Save your layoff notice, severance agreement, and any other important documents
- Save performance reviews, praise, promotions, and compensation records
- Keep records of protected leave, accommodation requests, and medical or parental leave approvals
- Write down the timeline of events
- Ask what criteria were used to select employees for layoff and whether the decision was based on performance scores, productivity data, or rankings
- Don’t delete messages or files that may be relevant
- Don’t sign a severance agreement until you understand what rights you may be giving up
This is especially important if you are being offered severance. Severance agreements often require employees to release legal claims against the employer. Once you sign, it may be much harder to challenge what happened.
The bottom line
Employers can’t use technology to do what they can’t lawfully do on their own. If an AI-assisted layoff process penalizes workers for taking protected leave, needing a disability accommodation, being pregnant, reporting discrimination, or belonging to a protected class, the employer may still be responsible.
For Massachusetts workers, it’s important not to assume a layoff is fair because it was based on data. If you were laid off after taking leave, requesting an accommodation, reporting workplace concerns, or being placed in a group that appears to have been disproportionately affected, it may be worth speaking with an experienced Massachusetts employment law attorney before signing a severance agreement or walking away.
Contact Rodman Employment Law to discuss your rights and options.
