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Elon Musk's Ex Employee Wins $550,000 · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
• 0:04
  Podcast. This is a show where we discuss
• 0:07
  the critical crossroads, the Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The
• 0:11
  Boring Company, and Neurolink. I'm your host Will Walden, a
• 0:16
  former senior executive of Twitter's Irish operations, has
• 0:20
  been awarded a record-breaking compensation of over €550,000 by
• 0:25
  the Workplace Relations Commission or the WRC in an
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  unfair dismissal case. The decision marks the highest
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  award in the WR CS history for such cases, which is a
• 0:35
  significant concern over the treatment of employees under the
• 0:39
  leadership of X and Elon Musk. Now, the case revolved around an
• 0:44
  e-mail sent by Musk in November of 2022, which outlined drastic
• 0:49
  changes to work expectations and required employees to agree to
• 0:53
  unspecific new conditions within one day.
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  Now the e-mail, which was titled A Fork in the Road, was sent by
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  Musk shortly after his acquisition of Twitter.
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  And in the message, Musk stated that to build a breakthrough
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  Twitter two point O and succeed in a highly competitive
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  environment, employees would need to adopt an extremely
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  hardcore work ethic which would involve long hours and intense
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  workloads. Now employees were given a 24
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  hour deadline to click yes on a link included in the e-mail
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  signifying their agreement to the new terms.
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  The e-mail warned that failure to do so would be interpreted as
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  a resignation, with the employee receiving three months of
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  severance pay. Now the complainant, Gary
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  Rooney, who served as Twitter Director of Source to Pay, did
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  not click yes in response to Musk's e-mail, which led to his
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  dismissal from the company on December 18th, 2022.
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  Rooney argued that the abrupt termination was unfair,
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  particularly given the lack of clarity surrounding the new
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  terms and the insufficient time provided to make an informed
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  decision. Despite his request for Musk to
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  be called as a witness, the WRC did not compel Musk to attend
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  the hearings, which spanned 5 days between November 2023 and
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  May of 2024. Now, in his 73 page ruling, WRC
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  Education Officer Michael Mcnaney determined that Rooney's
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  failure to click yes could not be construed as a resignation.
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  He concluded that Rooney was dismissed solely because he did
• 2:31
  not assent to the e-mail, which did not amount to a resignation
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  under Irish employment law. McNamee noted that Rooney was
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  still available and willing to work, but Twitter had barred him
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  from accessing his work systems, thereby effectively terminating
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  his employment now. McNamee also pointed out that
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  the e-mail from Busk did not provide reasonable notice or
• 2:54
  adequate time for employees to fully understand the
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  consequences of their decisions. He described the 24 hour
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  deadline as unreasonable and observed that the e-mail
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  appeared to be an attempt either to alter existing employment
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  contracts or to prompt voluntary redundancies.
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  The officer found that the dismissal lacks substantial
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  grounds and was therefore unfair.
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  Now, Rudy's legal team argued that accepting Twitter stance
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  that failing to click a box constituated a resignation or
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  constituted a resignation and would represent a radical shift
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  in employment law in Ireland. They emphasize that Rooney's
• 3:32
  decision not to agree to the unclear terms presented in the
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  e-mail should not have been interpreted as insubordination
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  or a breach of his contract. The WRC ruling supported this
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  view, dismissing Twitter's argument and reinforcing the
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  rights of employees to fair and transparent communication
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  regarding their employment status.
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  Now, following his dismissal, Rooney struggled to secure a
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  comparable position, eventually finding employment with the bank
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  in September 2023, earning significantly less than his
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  prior role at Twitter. His compensation package at
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  Twitter had included the basic salary of $137,000 plus a 30%
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  performance bonus totaling 369,937 thousand.
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  Wait 369 1937 dollars annually? That's pound sorry.
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  And the financial impact of the dismissal was substantial,
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  leading to Rooneys claim to the maximum allowable compensation
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  under Irish law. Now the WRC heard evidence of
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  Rooney's attempts to seek clarity from Twitter following
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  the fork in the road e-mail. On November 17th 2022 he
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  attended a virtual meeting where little information was provided
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  about the new expectations. And despite his concerns,
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  Rooney's access to Twitter systems was cut off the
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  following day. Without prior notice or
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  explanation. He received an automated message
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  on November 19th, 2022, acknowledging what Twitter
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  erroneously termed his decision to resign.
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  Now. Rooneys attempts to contest his
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  dismissal included an e-mail sent to Twitter on November 26,
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  2022, in which he disputed the characterization of his actions
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  as a resignation. He expressed frustration over
• 5:13
  the lack of response to his inquiries and the stress caused
• 5:16
  by the situation. The only substantive reply he
• 5:20
  received from Twitter on December 20.
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  December 7th, 2022, when the company reiterated its position
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  that he failed to click yes, was taken as notice of resignation.
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  Now, Rudy's counsel argued that the e-mail from US created an
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  untenable situation for employees, forcing them to agree
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  to unspecified changes to their working conditions without
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  adequate information or time to consider the implications.
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  They pointed out that the e-mail mentioned potential changes to
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  work hours, including the possibility of weekend work and
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  the removal of unspecified benefits.
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  These changes were communicated without providing employees with
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  full details, making it impossible for them to make an
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  informed decision Now. Another significant issue raised
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  by Rooney's legal team was the lack of clarity regarding stock
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  options, which were a critical or critical and crucial
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  component of its compensation package.
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  At the time of the e-mail, no information about the status of
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  these options was available, adding to the uncertainty faced
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  by employees. They said that Rooneys contract
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  required a any resignation to be submitted in writing, further
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  undermining Twitters argument that his failed to check yes
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  constituent constituted a resignation.
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  I don't know why I keep saying constituted but constituted a
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  resignation. In his testimony, Rooney
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  described his previous work environment at Twitter as highly
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  positive before the acquisition by Musk.
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  He expressed disbelief at the content and tone of the fork in
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  the road e-mail, saying that he was initially hesitant to open
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  it, fearing it might be spam or malware.
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  Rooney also highlighted the significant changes in company
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  culture following the acquisition, including the
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  suspension of all projects he was involved in and the halting
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  of travel expenses. Now, the WRC was told that
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  Twitter had insisted on all employees returning to office
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  based work, despite Rooney having always worked remotely.
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  This requirement was sent seen as part of the broader changes
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  being implemented under Musk's ownership, which Rooney found
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  increasingly difficult to reconcile with his previous
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  experience at the company. He testified that he was
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  concerned about the potential conditions of the new employment
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  terms, which he believed would have been detrimental to his
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  work life balance and overall well-being now.
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  Under cross examination, Rooney admitted that he was aware there
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  would be consequences if he did not click yes, but he could not
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  have predicted the full extent of those consequences due to the
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  lack of clarity in the communication.
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  He stated that he had expected a severance package if he chose
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  not to agree to the terms, but this was not offered.
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  Instead, he was dismissed without any further negotiation
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  or explanation. Twitter's legal team, led by
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  Mark Currenbiel, argued that the company was within its rights to
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  make reasonable changes to employment contracts as
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  stipulated in Rooney's contract. They maintained that the changes
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  outlined in Musk's e-mail were necessary to align the company
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  with its new direction as a software and servers company,
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  which required a more engineering driven approach.
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  Ron also pointed out that Rooney had clearly communicated to
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  colleagues his decision not to agree to the new terms and his
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  intention to leave Twitter now. The company rejected claims that
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  Rooney's dismissal was a form of constructive dismissal,
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  asserting that he had failed to provide evidence to support his
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  claims regarding other elements of his compensation package
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  aside from his basic salary. And Twitter's senior director of
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  human resources, Lauren Wegman, testified that the transition to
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  a private company under Musk's leadership had resulted in a 50%
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  reduction in the workforce, with mixed reactions among the
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  remaining staff now. Ultimately, the WRC ruled in
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  favor of Rennie, awarding him a total of £550,131.00 in
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  compensation. This amount included 200,000 for
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  prospective future loss of earnings.
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  Recognizing the financial impact of the dismissal on Rudy's
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  career, the ruling also dismissed a separate claim by
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  Rooney for a performance bonus for 20/22, which was deemed not
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  to be well found in The case has sent a new precedent in Irish
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  employment law, particularly concerning the interpretation of
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  resignation and the obligations of employers to provide clear
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  and reasonable communication when making significant changes
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  to employee terms. Now, Rooney's solicitor Barry
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  Kenny expressed satisfaction with the outcome, of course,
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  noting that the ruling provided much needed clarity and
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  protection for employees in similar situations.
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  Now, the previous record for an unfair dismissal award by the
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  WRC was 440,000 lbs, which was granted to musician and
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  entrepreneur Mick Kiley in February after his dismissal as
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  CEO of HYF Ireland. Now Rooney's case, however,
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  shows that there's challenges that employees face while
• 10:14
  navigating uncertainties when there's a company takeover.
• 10:17
  When Elon Musk took over Twitter and renamed it to X, Rooney has
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  a case here and has won the largest purse, 550,131 lbs.
• 10:36
  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
• 10:37
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• 10:40
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• 10:47
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• 11:04
  and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.