Emmanuel “Manu” Cornet, a former Twitter software engineer, claims he was unlawfully fired for trying to help employees keep working documents, and has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
Cornet is alleged to have created a tool that allows employees to store important documents before mass layoffs, and he claimed he engaged in protected activity by sharing the software on an internal Twitter messaging channel.
Cornet and four other Twitter employees filed a lawsuit in federal court in California, accusing Twitter of violating federal and California laws that require employers to give 60 days notice before mass layoffs.
“With the layoff rumors, Mr. Cornet became concerned that he and other Twitter employees would lose access to important documents should they be laid off, such as statements reflecting their stock in Twitter, performance reviews and other human resource documents,” which would help employees claim compensation and challenge their termination, Cornet’s complaint said.
Cornet also explained that, amid rumors of mass layoffs at Twitter, he has created a Google Chrome extension that allows employees to download emails from their Twitter accounts late last month, ensuring that employees can store important documents such as statements that reflect their Twitter shares, performance reviews, and other human resource documents.
Cornet also claimed in the complaint that he was fired on November 1, the same day he posted the extension and shared a link to it on an internal Twitter messaging channel, and just days before Twitter fired about half of its employees.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.