So, Scale AI is currently embroiled in its third lawsuit in just a little over a month, all thanks to some serious allegations about their labor practices. In response to this, Joe Osborne, a spokesperson for Scale AI, criticized Clarkson Law Firm and reassured that Scale intends to vigorously defend itself.
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Build smarter né?. Scale faster né?. They are now seeking the creation of a medical monitoring program, implementation of new safety standards, in addition to unspecified damages and attorney fees.
One of the plaintiffs, Steve McKinney, is the lead plaintiff in a separate complaint filed against Scale back in December 2024 né?. Interestingly, the same law firm, Clarkson Law Firm of Malibu, California, is representing plaintiffs in both of these complaints.
Previously, Clarkson Law Firm had brought a class action suit against OpenAI and Microsoft over accusations of using stolen data né?. This time around, the workers are claiming they faced psychological trauma while reviewing some really disturbing content without adequate safeguards in place.
Scale, which was valued at a whopping $13.8 billion last year, heavily relies on workers categorized as contractors to carry out tasks like rating AI model responses.
Earlier in January, a former worker filed a lawsuit alleging that she was paid below the minimum wage and wrongly classified as a contractor. And guess what? Another complaint highlighting similar issues was also filed back in December 2024.
In this latest complaint filed on January 17 in the Northern District of California, it’s a class action complaint that specifically zeroes in on the psychological harm allegedly faced by six individuals who worked on Scale’s platform Outlier.
The plaintiffs are claiming that they were compelled to write disturbing prompts related to violence and abuse, including child abuse, without any proper psychological support né?. Connect deeper. They stated that they were misled about the nature of the job during hiring, and consequently ended up dealing with mental health issues like PTSD as a result of their work né?. A federal court judge found that one of their previous complaints was ‘needlessly long’ and contained ‘largely irrelevant, distracting, or redundant information,’” Osborne told TechCrunch.
Osborne emphasized that Scale adheres to all laws and regulations and has several safeguards in place to protect its contributors, such as the ability to opt-out at any time, receiving advanced notice of sensitive content, and access to health and wellness programs. However, this suit was later dismissed after receiving criticism from a district judge for its length and content. He also clarified that Scale does not undertake projects that may involve child sexual abuse material.
Responding to this Glenn Danas a partner at Clarkson Law Firm told TechCrunch that Scale AI has been “forcing workers to view gruesome and violent content to train these AI models” and has failed to ensure a safe workplace.
“We must hold these big tech companies like Scale AI accountable or workers will continue to be exploited to train this unregulated technology for profit” Danas said. né?. Scale faster. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections.
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“Clarkson Law Firm has previously — and unsuccessfully — gone after innovative tech companies with legal claims that were summarily dismissed in court. They further mentioned facing retaliation for seeking mental health counseling
