{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-01T09:27:11.849Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"employment-court","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2024","response":"lawsuit","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":0,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":1,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":0,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":1,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":1},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2024-spanish-court-upholds-translators-dismissal-after-employer-blamed-clients-switch-to-ai-translation","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"La empleada llevaba trabajando para la empresa desde enero de 2007, como traductora, y tenía un contrato indefinido a tiempo completo ... En mayo de 2024, le comunicaron su despido objetivo con efectos desde el día 31, cuando ya acumulaba una antigüedad de más de 17 años.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Una relación laboral que, sin embargo, terminaba abruptamente en mayo de 2024, cuando la empresa comunicaba a la trabajadora la decisión de extinguir su contrato de trabajo por causas objetivas.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A translator employed full time by a translation and interpreting company since January 2007 was notified in May 2024 of an objective dismissal, after more than 17 years of service.","causal_attribution":"Facts of the case as relayed from the judgment by two legal-news outlets."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"«Nuestro sector se ve afectado por una transformación profunda como consecuencia de la introducción de las nuevas tecnologías, reforzado esto con la aparición de la IA. Parte de las traducciones que los clientes encargaban a las empresas de traducción han desaparecido porque los clientes realizan esas traducciones por sus propios medios","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"El motivo principal del despido fue la transformación “profunda” que había atravesado el sector de la traducción debido a la introducción de nuevas tecnologías y la Inteligencia Artificial. Muchos clientes habían dejado de encargar traducciones al usar herramientas automáticas disponibles en internet, lo que obligó a la compañía a bajar los precios. Esto, irremediablemente, les provocó un descenso de los ingresos, lo que, en este caso, puso a la compañía en situación económica negativa.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The employer's dismissal letter attributed the dismissal to a transformation of the translation sector reinforced by AI, saying part of the translations clients used to order had disappeared because clients now did them by their own means.","causal_attribution":"The employer's stated reason as quoted and summarised in the reports; not a court finding that AI caused the decline."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"En concreto, la empresa pasó de tener beneficios mínimos en 2022 a registrar pérdidas de 10.995,27 euros en 2023. Esta situación empeoró drásticamente en el primer trimestre de 2024, acumulando pérdidas de 16.471,00 euros.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The company reported losses of 10,995.27 euros in 2023 and 16,471 euros in the first quarter of 2024 and said cutting costs was needed to avoid closure.","causal_attribution":"The employer's figures as reported; the worker disputed them (c5)."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"La traductora, no conforme con el despido, decidió impugnarlo, pero el Juzgado de lo Social Nº3 de Valladolid desestimó su demanda, declarándolo procedente. ... Por todo lo anterior, el Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León desestimó el recurso de la trabajadora y confirmó íntegramente la sentencia de instancia, ratificando la procedencia del despido. ... No obstante, esta sentencia no era firme y contra la misma cabía interponer un recurso de casación para la unificación de doctrina ante el Tribunal Supremo.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"El caso llegó al Juzgado de lo Social nº 3 de Valladolid, que desestimó íntegramente las pretensiones de la trabajadora frente a la empresa de traducciones. ... Las cifras aportadas por la empresa convencieron al tribunal, que consideró justificado el despido objetivo por razones económicas y confirmó la sentencia de instancia.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The social court no. 3 of Valladolid rejected the translator's claim, and the High Court of Justice of Castilla y Leon dismissed her appeal and upheld the dismissal as justified on economic grounds; the ruling was reported as not final.","causal_attribution":"Court outcome as reported by two outlets relaying the same judgment."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"La defensa de la trabajadora argumentó que la empresa había facturado más de 300.000 euros en años anteriores, con beneficios de entre 300 y 400 euros, y que «no se pueden considerar acreditadas las cantidades de las pérdidas que se reflejan en la carta de despido».","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"En último lugar, la trabajadora argumentó que la decisión de despedirla a ella y no al otro empleado fue arbitraria, pero el tribunal rechazó de nuevo este argumento por falta de datos.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The translator argued that the losses in the dismissal letter were not proven, citing earlier turnover above 300,000 euros, and that choosing her rather than the other employee was arbitrary; the High Court rejected both arguments.","causal_attribution":"The worker's arguments and the court's response as reported."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"El Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León dictó, el 15 de septiembre de 2025, uno de los primeros pronunciamientos en España que analiza si la transformación empresarial derivada de la implantación de Inteligencia Artificial puede servir de base para un despido objetivo (rec. 2003/2025). ... A medida que estas soluciones se generalizaron, cada vez más clientes empezaron a traducir directamente con IA, reduciendo la contratación de servicios profesionales.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A training firm's commentary dates the High Court ruling to 15 September 2025 (appeal 2003/2025) and says clients increasingly translated directly with AI as the tools spread.","causal_attribution":"Commentary on the same judgment; the date and appeal number were not checked against the judgment."}],"effects":[{"label":"translator dismissed after 17 years, employer citing clients switching to AI translation","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"dismissal upheld by the social court and on appeal","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.noticiastrabajo.es/empleo/derechos-trabajador/una-traductora-con-17-anos-de-antiguedad-es-despedida-por-culpa-de-la-inteligencia-artificial-la-empresa-entro-en-crisis-por-el-auge-de-las-herramientas-de-traduccion-automatica/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-11-01 (HTTP 200, published 15 Feb 2026). Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator. The article reports the judgment; the judgment itself was not read.","independence_group":"castilla-leon-high-court-translator-judgment-relays"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://confilegal.com/20260401-traductora-despedida-porque-la-ia-hace-ya-innecesario-su-trabajo-aunque-la-empresa-no-la-utilice/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-11-01 through a Wayback Machine capture (the live page returned HTTP 403; article published 1 Apr 2026). Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator. The article reports the judgment, quoting the dismissal letter and the court; the judgment itself was not read.","independence_group":"castilla-leon-high-court-translator-judgment-relays"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.grupo2000.es/inteligencia-artificial-justificar-despido/","kind":"commentary","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-11-01 (HTTP 200, published 21 Jul 2026). A training company's commentary; used only for the ruling date and appeal number. Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator.","independence_group":"castilla-leon-high-court-translator-judgment-relays"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","justice"],"unknowns":["The text of the High Court judgment and of the first-instance ruling.","Whether the ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court.","How much of the company's decline the court attributed to clients' use of AI tools, beyond the employer's letter.","Where the company operates and where the translator lives."],"geography":{"basis":"The case was decided by the social court no. 3 of Valladolid and the High Court of Justice of Castilla y Leon under the Spanish Workers' Statute, as reported. The reports do not state where the company operates or where the translator lives, so those are left unknown rather than inferred from the courts' seat.","court_countries":["ES"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a consequential response to AI adoption: two legal-news outlets report that an employer dismissed a translator, citing clients who now translate with AI tools, and that the courts upheld the dismissal; the employer's account of the AI link is attributed.","reviewed_on":"2026-11-01"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The harm is the employer's dismissal of a translator in response to clients' adoption of AI translation. According to the dismissal letter as quoted by Confilegal and summarised by Noticias Trabajo, part of the translations clients used to order had disappeared because clients now did them by their own means with AI and automatic tools, and the resulting fall in revenue was the stated ground for the dismissal. No source says an AI system produced any output about the translator, so the relation is unknown under the consequential-response exemption.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Spanish court upholds translator's dismissal after employer said clients had switched to AI translation, legal press reports","summary":"Noticias Trabajo and Confilegal report that a translation and interpreting company dismissed a translator on objective grounds in May 2024, after 17 years in the job. According to the dismissal letter as quoted by Confilegal, the sector had been transformed by new technologies reinforced by the appearance of AI, and part of the translations clients used to order had disappeared because clients now did them by their own means. Noticias Trabajo reports that the company cited a fall in revenue and losses of about 11,000 euros in 2023 and 16,471 euros in the first quarter of 2024. The translator challenged the dismissal, arguing that the losses were not proven and that choosing her over the other employee was arbitrary. The social court no. 3 of Valladolid rejected her claim, and the High Court of Justice of Castilla y Leon dismissed her appeal and upheld the dismissal as justified on economic grounds; a training firm's commentary dates that ruling to 15 September 2025. Noticias Trabajo says the ruling was not yet final. The courts' reasoning, as reported, rests on the company's accounts; how much of the decline the AI tools caused was the employer's account.","incidentDate":"2024-05-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-02-15","aiSystem":"Artificial-intelligence and automatic translation tools that, according to the employer's dismissal letter as reported, clients used to do their own translations instead of ordering them; no product is named","aiProduct":"Unidentified machine-translation tools","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The translator lost her job of more than 17 years in May 2024 in a dismissal the employer attributed to clients doing their own translations with AI and automatic tools; the courts upheld the dismissal, according to Noticias Trabajo and Confilegal.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One counted: the dismissed translator (Noticias Trabajo, Confilegal).","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_dismissed","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.noticiastrabajo.es/empleo/derechos-trabajador/una-traductora-con-17-anos-de-antiguedad-es-despedida-por-culpa-de-la-inteligencia-artificial-la-empresa-entro-en-crisis-por-el-auge-de-las-herramientas-de-traduccion-automatica/","primarySourceLabel":"Noticias Trabajo, 15 Feb 2026: translator with 17 years' service dismissed as AI translation hit her employer","firstPublishedAt":"2026-11-01T03:08:06.715925+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-11-01T03:08:06.715925+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["translation","dismissal","employment-court","machine-translation","job-loss"]}]}