Twitter forced to pay former employee $600,000 in compensation for unlawful termination

Two years ago, Twitter’s then-CEO Elon Musk sent an email to staff members telling them to “click yes” to signal their assent to working in an “extremely hardcore” environment, with a warning that those who refused to do so would be fired and sent off with three months of severance pay.

A former senior executive in the Irish-based operations of Twitter who did not click “yes” filed a suit for unfair termination, and Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission has just ruled in his favor.

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Twitter forced to pay former employee $600,000 in compensation for unlawful termination

The commission decided that Gary Rooney’s refusal to agree to the ultimatum did not constitute an act of resignation. As such, the company was not justified in firing him, according to RTE.

The commission ordered X to pay $600,000 to the former employee, who had worked with the social media platform for nine years.

In Musk’s email with the subject line “A Fork in the Road,” the billionaire told employees the “hardcore” working conditions that would begin included “long hours at high intensity”. Workers were given 24 hours to either agree to the new environment or refuse to do so.

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Twitter had argued that Rooney’s decision not click “yes” indicated that he was aware he was resigning from his job.

The body found that Musk’s 24-hour deadline did not give his staff enough time to consider the options they had and make an informed decision with regard to their jobs.

An officer of the commission, Michael MacNamee, said Rooney was unfairly dismissed because there were no grounds to justify his termination.