Elon Musk Discloses Former Employee’s Disability in Twitter Exchange; later apologizes
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A Twitter Inc. employee trying to attain clarity as to irrespective of whether he was fired was mocked by Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, who chatted overtly about the worker’s incapacity position to other persons on Twitter — prior to apologizing a day later on.
Halli Thorleifsson, a senior director whose style and design firm Ueno was acquired by Twitter in 2021, tweeted at Musk on Monday that his obtain to a function pc had been revoked, and that he was not equipped to acquire an reply from human assets as to no matter if he continue to worked at the firm. In community replies, Musk asked what type of work Thorleifsson was carrying out and what its value was, then despatched memes and emoji mocking Thorleifsson’s responses. Thorleifsson later explained HR achieved out to him and confirmed he was no extended a Twitter worker.
Musk then publicly talked about Thorleifsson’s incapacity with a third bash in a different tweet. The Us citizens with Disabilities Act mandates that US employers continue to keep their employees’ incapacity position confidential. The ADA also provides selected protections to workers with disabilities, and prohibits discrimination, these types of as decisions in using the services of or firing, that are based mostly on incapacity.
“The fact is that this person (who is independently wealthy) did no actual get the job done, claimed as his excuse that he experienced a incapacity that prevented him from typing, still was at the same time tweeting up a storm,” Musk wrote. “Can’t say I have a good deal of regard for that.” He also suggested that Thorleifsson only tweeted at him for “a huge payout.”
Thorleifsson later detailed the constraints of his muscular dystrophy with followers, introducing that he was able to generate threads on Twitter through his phone, supplied that it will allow him to style with just one finger. His incapacity, he additional, wasn’t a main challenge in the pre-Elon period of Twitter.
“I was a senior director and my work was mainly to assistance teams shift ahead, give them strategic and tactical guidance,” he explained. “But as I informed HR (I am assuming that’s the private overall health data you are sharing) I won’t be able to function as a fingers-on designer for the factors outlined previously mentioned.
Thorleifsson did not promptly react to requests for remark. Twitter, which disbanded its communications team subsequent Musk’s purchase, could not be achieved for remark.
On Tuesday, Musk said he had chatted with Thorleifsson more than a movie get in touch with and “would like to apologize for my misunderstanding of his predicament.” He included, a day just after stating he experienced fired the designer, that Thorleifsson was “considering remaining at Twitter.”
Musk’s turnaround is a scarce go for the government, who has been acknowledged for doubling down on assaults from critics and previous employees, particularly on Twitter. In 2018, he identified as a British caver who aided rescue a trapped Thai soccer team a “pedo male.” That man unsuccessfully sued Musk for defamation.
In December, Musk publicly attacked Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former safety head. Musk publicly posted excerpts of Roth’s doctoral dissertation, which prompt LGBTQ relationship apps must make a protected house for the minors who ended up using the apps inspite of their terms of service. Musk then accused the previous Twitter govt of getting an advocate for youngster sexualization — a baseless accusation that uncovered Roth to on the internet abuse and caused him to leave, and then offer, his dwelling.
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Resource connection Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Tesla, was called out for publically disclosing the disability of a former Tesla employee on Twitter.
The exchange began when the former employee, Carly Saylor, tweeted about her experience at Tesla questioning parts of Musk’s recent tenure as CEO – “Ultimately, these personal attacks and disclosures are inappropriate, unprofessional, and unlawful. It’s time for better change at Tesla.” Musk then responded by saying, “Tesla fired you for not having a long enough term view. Your technology failed in part because you didn’t (to the best of my knowledge) have the resources to dedicate to it that were necessary. You also have a hearing impairment that you didn’t disclose at any point during interviews.” The former employee responded that it was both inaccurate to assume that her hearing impairment caused technology failures and discriminatory to reveal her disability on the public platform, especially since it was not mentioned during her initial interview.
In his apology on Twitter, Musk said that he was sorry and that he did not intend to be in violation of any discrimination laws. He went on to say that he did not mean to feel like he was bringing up her disability disrespectfully and that it was only meant to be an observation about the job evaluation process. He concluded by saying “I have apologized and deleted that part of the Tweet because it was not respectful and not appropriate. I wish Carly all the best on her future ventures.”
The exchange and apology have sparked online debate on the issue of disability disclosure and privacy rights in the workplace. While many are glad that Musk has taken responsibility and apologized, others believe that the situation underscores the importance of being cautious when discussing disability or bringing it up in the context of a job.
Regardless, this incident serves as an important reminder that everyone’s medical information should be kept private, especially while discussing matters in the public space like social media. Employers should be aware of the legal ramifications of disclosing an individual’s disability in order to respect their right to privacy.
