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A California federal judge zapped a proposed class action Wednesday that claimed Twitter unlawfully fired employees with disabilities in the wake of Elon Musk's purchase to lead what is now X Corp. But the judge created an opportunity for the plaintiff to change his claims.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted X Corp.'s motion to dismiss the Americans with Disabilities Act suit Tuesday, agreeing that plaintiff Dmitry Borodaenko did not explain how Twitter's 2022 mass layoffs were meant to affect disabled employees in particular;

X Corp Shuts Down Disability Bias Suit : Discrimination Allegations

Borodaenko, who brought the case in 2022, alleged that Twitter's requirement for staff to be on-call around-the-clock had a punitive impact on employees with disabilities. Because by merely requiring them to show up at work reinstated in the office and asking that they sort or pack things were said to have amounted discrimination against employees who had disability, he contended.

But Judge Martínez-Olguín determined that Borodaenko did not prove disabled workers were treated adversely by the company's new measures. Writing for the court, Judge Borow said Borodaenko's arguments baked in "the fact that being disabled alone makes a particular individual so inefficient and unproductive at his or her job that he or she must always work from home as a reasonable accommodation."

X Corp Shuts Down Disability Bias Suit : Next Steps for the Plaintiff

The judge threw out Borodaenko lawsuit, but offered him a chance to retool his claims. This leaves room for the plaintiff to move in and hopefully attempt to elicit examples more rooted directly in discriminatory practice under X Corp.'s policies.

Legal Representation

Shannon Liss-Riordan, Thomas Fowler of Lichten & Liss-Riordan PC and Adam Morris Rose from the Law Office of Robert Starr represent Borodaenko. X Corp. is represented by Eric Meckley, Ashlee Nicole Cherry, Brian D. Berry Kassia Ann Stephenson and Roshni Chaudhari Kapoor of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP