Young v. ByteDance Inc.
- Vince Chhabria
- 3:22-cv-01883
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Young v. ByteDance, Judge Chhabria granted TikTok and ByteDance’s motion to dismiss, allowing the plaintiffs 21 days to amend.
The plaintiffs, who sued TikTok and ByteDance, may amend their complaint within 21 days; TikTok and ByteDance obtained dismissal of the complaint at this stage.
What happened
In Reece Young v. ByteDance Inc., the plaintiffs sued TikTok and ByteDance, although they worked for other employers. They alleged that TikTok set work quotas, monitored moderators, and supplied their work software, among other allegations.
The court held that California’s workers’ compensation exclusivity rule applied because the plaintiffs had not adequately alleged an exception for a company that retains control over a contractor’s work. The court also found that the complaint did not adequately allege an unsafe-equipment exception. The court did not decide whether the retained-control exception requires physical injury.
Judge Vince Chhabria granted the motion to dismiss and dismissed the complaint with leave to amend. The plaintiffs had 21 days to file an amended complaint, and TikTok’s response was due 21 days after that filing.
The detailed version
- Young v. ByteDance Inc. · No. 3:22-cv-01883
- Vince Chhabria
- Oct. 19, 2022
Background
The plaintiffs sued TikTok and ByteDance rather than their direct employers. The opinion states that the plaintiffs alleged TikTok set work quotas, surveilled moderators’ work, and provided the software moderators used. They also alleged that their direct employers lacked support and precautions, and asserted that those employers did little more than issue paychecks.
Court’s Analysis
The court applied California’s workers’ compensation exclusivity rule. That rule generally limits an employee’s remedies against an employer to the workers’ compensation system, and the court concluded that the plaintiffs had not adequately pleaded an exception that could apply to TikTok or ByteDance.
The plaintiffs relied primarily on the retained-control exception. That exception can apply when a company hiring an independent contractor retains control over the work, negligently exercises that control, and injures the contractor’s employees. The court held that the complaint did not come close to alleging that TikTok retained the required control. Setting quotas, monitoring work, and providing software were within the broad supervisory control TikTok could exercise over the results of the work without losing workers’ compensation protection. The complaint also did not allege that TikTok prevented the plaintiffs’ direct employers from controlling working conditions or providing support and precautions.
The court declined to decide whether the retained-control exception requires a physical injury under California law because the parties had not adequately addressed that issue and the motion could be resolved on the lack of allegations showing retained control. The court also rejected the plaintiffs’ attempt to plead an unsafe-equipment exception, stating that even if that exception could apply to software, the plaintiffs alleged no defect or safety problem with the software.
Disposition
Judge Vince Chhabria granted the motion to dismiss. The complaint was dismissed with leave to amend. Any amended complaint had to be filed within 21 days of the order, and TikTok’s response was due 21 days after the amended filing.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.