Recently, many large companies have engaged in layoffs in anticipation of an impending recession. However, these workforce reductions raise the potential for costly bias lawsuits in which workers allege that the lay offs have disproportionately affected members of protected identity groups. For instance, Twitter is currently facing lawsuits from both women and disabled workers regarding the disproportionate impact of its layoffs on these groups. After the 2008 financial crisis and layoffs that ensued, the number of discrimination charges filed rose significantly which led the term "recessionary discrimination" to be coined. Similarly, there may be a subsequent rise in bias lawsuits in the near future as a result from the mass layoffs in the tech industry.
See "Mass layoffs may lead to an increase in bias lawsuits as workers from protected groups allege being disproportionately impacted", J. Edward Moreno, Bloomberg Law, January 27, 2023