>> building a better bay area. moving forward. finding solutions. this is abc7 news. >> i'm kristen sze. you are watching "getting answers." we ask experts your questions every day at 3:00 p.m. to get answers for you in real time. today, rsv is in the news. europe has just approved a protective injection for newborns and the vaccine may soon be out here. we will get the latest from our special correspondent, dr. patel. also, we fall back one hour this sunday, people are wondering, which is better for sleep, daylight savings or standard time, and how can you ensure your sleep schedule is not messed up by the time change? a sleep expert will be joining us.

first, black friday at twitter. the anticipated bloodbath has happened one week after the richest man in the world, elon musk, acquired the social media platforms. at an investors conference today, he acknowledged he laid off about half of the company's workforce, about 3700 people. tweets of employees who got the acts filled with a twitter timeline. chris uni tweeted images of him being locked out of his emails and laptop. lawsuits are being filed, contending musk violated the law. joining us to discuss the legal ramifications of the twitter layoffs is a los angeles trial attorney, lisa bloom. thank you for your time today. we understand class-action lawsuits are being filed. some states including california have laws with regard to notification of mass layoffs. what is the allegation? what's this all about? >> that's right. as an employee rights lawyer, i know that california law was not followed here.

we have very strong worker protection law, called the warn act, if there are big layoff some companies, employees are supposed to get 60 days' notice. twitter is a big company. no question the law applies to them. this is a mass layoff. what twitter has been doing with some but not all of the people they are terminating is they are keeping them through january. so they are keeping them through the 60 day period. although they are not having an access to work. they are just supposed to stay home. they will get compensated and their benefits. but i don't think that is sufficient. i think there are a lot more questions. i'm speaking to dozens of twitter employees today. the law also provides for a $500 a day per employee penalty. if the warn act is violated, because people didn't get 60 days' notice, and in addition there is anti-disk termination laws coming into play. i hear pregnant workers, older workers, people of color are

being disproportionately impacted. a lot of questions and we are doing that investigation all day today. kristen: you are saying even if they pay people through the early part of january, 60 days from now, that may not be enough to kind of say, we didn't violate that 60 day notification thing, because we are paying you through that period. >> that's correct. because they are still in violation of the law. the damages these employees have will be deducted, any payments to get between now and january. but it's not the end of the story. i can also tell you that elon musk, when he agreed to buy twitter, buried in that acquisition agreement, which i have read, it says anybody laid off will not be treated worse than what are employers who were laid off before elon. and we know the tech industry has been very generous to people when they are laid off in terms at their severance agreements. -- of their severance agreements. i would suspect they are not going to be as generous as they were with people before elon musk. in that case, they are going to

be in violation as well. kristen: i see. ok. that we have to wait to see what the offer actually is in terms of the severance. what it does have offices in at least 10 u.s. cities -- twitter does have offices and at least 10 u.s. cities and nationally. what other states have these kinds of protections? >> california has a good law. i'm proud to be a californian for that reason. nationwide, there is also a federal warn act which similarly protects people. the federal law applies nationwide to all 50 states. kristen: ok. you said you are answering employee questions, ex- employees. what are people telling you? >> they are shocked, they are disgusted, they are heartbroken, they loved their coworker. there's a hashtag trending among twitter laid off people, #lovewhereiworked.

they are just really despondent. it's done before the holidays. elon musk tweets today about revenues at twitter being down. like all these things to care about. no words of kindness for the thousands of people who he decided to lay off so the world's richest man can get a little bit richer a little bit faster. they are really upset about it. kristen: what do you think you will do know that so many people have come to you with these issues? do you think it will take further action? >> absolutely. we are reviewing the case, as we do with anybody who contacts our firm at the bloom firm. we review all the facts and the law. we review any documents. it's really important for people to not sign anything before they talk to an attorney. i want everybody to know that. because buried in the fine print, you could be signing away our rights to bring a lawsuit or claim. that could be a valuable rate you are giving up -- right you are giving up. we are advising them. it's going to take a couple of days, may be a week to review everything for everybody. then it would either be a class-action lawsuit or

individual cases are better for people. whatever is best for our clients, that's what we do. kristen: out of the things people have told you about, were you able to verify any of the stories we heard reported this week about some of the unusual requests, like engineers being asked to submit all the code they have written? i wonder if there's anything people have told you that made you think this might be illegal or problematic. >> i can tell you one story that i can share because he's also shared it on social media already, that is a senior guy in the engineering department, was asked to submit last week a list of people to be laid off. and he objected to some of the names that were given to him. he thought those people were good and should not be laid off. then he got fired immediately supposedly just last week. i think they fired a number of people last week, to try to get them out of the general layoff group that is getting fired today, so that they thought the warn act would not apply to them

if they fired people for cause, they don't have to give them the extra 60 days. but of course we has employment lawyers are entitled to push back and say, you didn't fire him for cause, he wanted to get rid of him because he's just part of the layoffs. you didn't want to pay him his big salary for another two months. he is still going to be entitled to it. kristen: if it is true that he was fired, if you are able to prove that he was fired because he had objected to certain other colleagues being fired, would that be considered retaliation? >> i think so. that is part of it. also just in general, he had the right to his 60 days of additional compensation. full medical benefits. stock options. those are very important to people. anybody who is cut off and does not get their medical benefits, if they have medical expenses during those 60 days, they are entitled to recover them. also attorney fees. the workers don't have to pay attorneys, the fees get paid by twitter when we prevail and i expect to. kristen: we are seeing drastic moves today by twitter. it is the stuff of movies, all

the offices are closed today, badge access is suspended. people told not to come in. is that standard playbook, when there's a mass layoff? >> it really is not, it is so disrespectful to these human beings who have worked hard for many years at this company, who cared a lot about this company. it's really a slap in the face to them, as if to suggest that they are criminals where they do something terrible. people do get laid off from their jobs. most people behave well, when they do. they don't have to be treated this way. i think it is adding fuel to the fire. it is why so many people are reaching out to me about a class-action lawsuit. beuse e way th been handled has been really cool. kristen: many companies are today pausing advertising on twitter. including pfizer, audi, general mills, to name a few. what does this reflect on the part of the companies and their concerns? >> well, i love that. it shows corporate response ability. it shows that even in corporate

america, there are standards. there are rules. you just don't do this to people. last night, although twitter employees got an e-mail, stay home, you will get a numeral in the morning about whether you have a job or not. not treating them like they are human beings, treating them like they are just numbers on a page. that seems to be all that they are to elon musk. just numbers and $'s to him. if you can get rid of him and get more money, that is what he chose to do. we will see how the company does without half of its employees, without that knowledge and ski'y going all these yearbas. it's going to be very interesting to see how this develops. i don't think it bodes well for twitter. kristen: employment attorney lisa bloom, thank you so much. i really appreciate your insight today. >> thank you. have a good day. kristen: coming up next -- it is friday, and the doctor is in. dr. patel joins us further weekly segment to talk all things health, especially rsv cases among young children. cases among young children. th this is what voting yes on prop 31 means.

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kristen: doctors are sounding the alarm about rsv. a dangerous respiratory illness sweeping through young children. hospitals are filling up your bed but there's promising news today in the battle against rsv. and about pfizer's benevolent poster. -- vivalent booster. dr. patel joins us on the covid flu and more. you've got two truths and a lie. >> telus was one of these is not true. kristen: i'm ready. thinking cap on. >> here we go. a, approved in europe are not

yet here, b, declines from 2000 -- the year 2000 and 20 china, the mostly present in 2019 to 2020, or is it c, pfizer announced a study of a combined hpv, marisela, and mrna vaccine? which one of these is not true? kristen: only because our time is short, i'm going to give my answer c is della. -- c is the lie. >> this is a trial about a combined covid and plensa vaccine that is expected to be available next year but we will see on that. alcohol deaths almost always on the rise. we are seeing more treatments regarding rsv. including potential for monoclonal antibody on the vaccine, which is good news because we are seeing right now how rsv can devastate the lives of so many people and overwhelm hospital systems. kristen: europe has approved

that antibody injection for newborns. but let's talk a little bit about whether that will get to the u.s. any talk of us approving something like that here? >> the company actually has submitted to our fda, because we follow a different guideline -- a different set of guidelines. the thought is that this would be available next cold and flu season. which is a big step forward. because right now we do have a monoclonal antibody but only available for children born before 29 weeks gestation or under the age of two. with severe heart or lung conditions. so any type of news, anything to prevent kids from getting hospitalized is an important step forward. kristen: and that potential pfizer vaccine, rsv vaccine, how soon my -- how soon might not materialize? >> this is a phase one study. if everything goes well in terms of safety and efficacy, next cold and flu season. a lot of hope coming in for the 2022/2023 winter. kristen: in the meantime right

now, why is rsv so bad this year? it's not new. but why is it wreaking havoc? >> there's a lot of theories out there. one of the leading ones is the fact that we have been locked down for the last 2 winters. on top of that, kids have not been around other kids. it's possible that our children's' collective immunity against the cold viruses is down right now. a lot of kids are seeing rsv for the first time. typically generally speaking when young kids see rsv for the first time, it is the worst. we have a lot of kids under the age of two seeing it. we can collectively see this surge. the rsv season is earlier that typically is. kristen: let's say we have a kid who seems to have some of the symptoms. augusta what they are. how do we know when we take care of them at home versus taking them to the hospital to see a doctor? >> thank you for asking this question. we want parents to know what they look out for and can do -- take a deep breath, kids get on

average 8-10 calls per season. the majority will not end up hospitalized. one of the most important things to do is help your kids breathe easier by getting out that mucus, the congestion. you can do that with a humidifier at home and use a nasal aspirator. we use when all the time on my daughter when she has a cold. parents want to look out for rapid, fast breathing. if you see that your child is struggling to move air, your child is really fighting, gasping for air, like they are running out of breath, that is when you should see a doctor asap, without question. those tiny little airwaves in babies can get clogged. that moves downward, kids can quickly progress into respiratory failure. don't hesitate, if you see any signs like that. kristen: ok. sometimes it's so confusing because you've got covid out there, too, the flu, you're not sure what's what -- are you seeing a lot of all of those yet? >> we are seeing a lot of rsv. influenza is also on the rise.

we are still seeing positive covid-19 tests. in the hospital. covid-19 is not all over the headlines like it was but we cannot ignore the fact that we are still seeing 2000 to 3000 americans die every week from covid-19. we should not be normalizing the number. we have an rsv surge happening right now, influenza sticking up, the worst season since 2010, since this one for outbreak. which is wild to think about it's been that many years. theirs are still a lot of unknowns regarding covid-19 -- there are still a lot of unknowns regarding covid-19. people know what they need to do. kristen: what do they need to do and 10 seconds? >> get vaccinated, make sure you wash your hands, wear a mask if you are symptomatic, and stay home if you are sick, and keep sick people away from your home. kristen: ok. i want to move on to major news about pfizer's bivalent booster. after studies of they of thbote, seemsat

e owmoretive strengths -- the current strains. i think he might be frozen. we are going to have to say goodbye to dr. patel for now and bring back on -- bring him back on next week to answer more questions. up next, the time change, yes, this weekend. and your sleep. many of us know, it is not as good as it sounds. a sleep expert will be joining us to explain why, coming up us to explain why, coming up next we gotta see this selection for ourselves. tile, wood, stone, laminate and vinyl. this hardwood is beautiful. this vinyl is durable. and this tile? so affordable! but when it comes to everything our family needs... this one is...perfect. now this store is the real deal. at floor and decor, there's plenty of room to explore. because with everyday low pricing on quality in-stock products and on-trend styles, you can really bring your living room to life. discover floor and decor today!

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kristen: if you want a huge battle that thanksgiving at the table, you can talk politics or daylight savings time. we fall back this sunday and return to standard time until next march. even as we do this twice a year, we continue to fight and be confused over whether seasonal time changes are needed or good for us. joining us live to give us insight and share tips is doctor

yuen, a sleep specialist, thank you for your time. let's tackle the practical stuff before jumping into that meta question of which is better -- we are going to gain an extra hour this weekend, have a 25 hour day sunday. are you one of the people looking forward to the extra hour of sleep? some people love that. but is it all wonderful, like it does wonders for our buddy, or does it do a number on our bodies as well? >> a lot of times, with the time change, our internal clock can get confused. we will be eating at differents. it can still create some confusion. generally most of us can stay up a little bit longer before i bodies go to sleep earlier because we can't not make our buddy go sleep earlier even if we tried. that is the difficulty sometimes we have with springing forward. >> but why do some people still say after the time change in the fall that they go to work on

monday and they are all tired, or they say they are more tired than usual? >> yes, i think the most difficult part is because of social cues are not any different. just the club has changed. it not mean that we can eat at the new time right away. to help us cope better, we definitely want people to have sunlight in the morning. we want them to bring a snack. eating at lunch is not lunch, it is 1 p.m. so we have to satisfy the internal clocks until they change gradually over time and then we can achieve that objective. similarly, if we get sleepy at 9 p.m. at the new time it is 8:00 p.m., it is a little bit confusing because we want to go to sleep at the clock says not yet. we need phased out in as well. kristen: you mean the way that we are jetlagged? try to adjust 15 minutes a day for a few days? >> those who have difficulty staying up longer, that would be the good strategy, to delay

sleep by 15 minutes or so. but by no means do we want people to be exposed to more social media necessarily. that can delay your sleep clock a lot more than you bargained for. but families may want to play game night together. if we have more social interactions, we may be able to stay up a little bit easier. kristen: i always try to get the kids to do family game night, there is a science behind that, kids. what kind of physical effects do we generally experience after a time change? talk about whether those are temporary or permanent. >> concentration could be affected. because if we don't sleep entirely well during the nighttime, our concentration can be peaking at different times, compared to when we needed to

pirouette some of the strategies would be maybe do some of you have your work earlier during the day. you make it fatigues a little bit later on in the afternoon. you might want to do letter lifting -- lighter lifting. bright light exposure is important no matter which time we are living in. physical activity -- and physical activity to keep the brain more alert and awake. those are important things to keep in mind. kristen: i may have to switch my walking to the morning before going into work as opposed to during when i get home just because of the no daylight at the end of the day. we are going to get into the heated debate. should we just adpot daylight saving time year-round? -- adopt daylight saving time year-round? mexico's senate this week decided to eliminate daylight savings time and stay on standard time. which is better for our bodies? >> they have put out some

guidelines to say that it is probably better to stay with permanent standard time. the reason being that in the summer months, sure we have more daylight, but the day is longer anyhow. that is because the earth has tilted towards us on so we can have more daylight hours no matter what we do. in the wintertime, we are tilting away. therefore we have less hours of sunlight and students may be going to school in the dark. we will be going to work in the dark. and we know the biological clock adapts a lot better when there is light in the morning. literally helping us synchronize to the clock of the day. so for permanent daylight savings time, a lot of the northern states in particular will be either at school or work in the dark. so we just don't think that that will be very helpful to train

the body to repeated changes. secondarily, to compensate for lack of sunlight, we have to compensate somehow to keep us awake. so for those that like to use caffeine, there is something to say about that, too. otherwise we have to rely on exercise, on eating routines. we very often may not be able to continue with that for a long time period. and for those teenagers and young adults that have biologically longer clocks, it will take them even longer to adopt, and some don't -- adapt, and some don't. individuals are permanently jetlagged for eight months of the year during daylight savings time and again when we fall back like this weekend. kristen: so it sounds like you are voting with standard time, but yet also cautioning that it kind of depends on where you are in the world and how you live.

>> well, we would prefer to not change back and forth. because both directions can create havoc. the best time likely will be permanent standard time, because of i -- because a biological clock is usually not lung within 24 hours, some people are more exceptions. kristen: you give us excellent tips on how to cope in transition smoothly. we do appreciate that very much. enjoy this weekend. >> yes, thank you so much. kristen: you can check out our 24/7 livestream on the abc 7 b area app. area app. this is what voting yes on prop 31 means. yes on 31 ends the sale of candy flavored tobacco products. yes, stops big tobacco from targeting our kids. ♪music playing♪ ♪♪

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joining us today on "getting answers. we will be here every weekday at 3:00 p.m. on air and on tonight, breaking news -- severe storms bearing down across several states as we come on the air, and the 100-car pileup. those tornado warnings and watches across the south and heartland. reports of a possible tornado outside dallas. dallas, austin, and little rock, and oklahoma city all on alert tonight. the 100-car pileup in denver. temperatures plunging from the 70s into the 20s. this system on the move. rob marciano standing by to time this out. house speaker nancy pelosi's first comments since the brutal attack on her husband. what he said and what she revealed about paul pelosi's condition. tonightonight, with elon mu charge of twitter,