by San Francisco officials are investigating a complaint claims Twitter illegally converted part of its headquarters into bedrooms.
The complaint was filed with the city’s 311 service by a user on the social media network itself, after Forbes reported that some conference rooms had been converted into “modest bedrooms with unmade mattresses, drab drapes and huge conference room telepresence monitors.”
Unnamed Twitter staffers told Forbes that an estimated four to eight bedrooms per floor were installed at the 1355 Market St. building. The Chronicle has not been able to independently verify the claims. City records indicate that there were no requests to convert any part of the building to residential use.
Twitter owner Elon Musk appeared to confirm the company had installed beds and slammed London Mayor Breed for scrutinizing the company instead of focusing on the city’s drug crisis.
“So the City of SF is targeting companies that provide beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl. What are your priorities @LondonBreed!?” musk posted on twitter, Link to a Chronicle story about a 10-month-old baby’s reported fentanyl overdose.
The City Building Inspectorate is seeking a site inspection for possible violations and has contacted the building manager for more information.
“We investigate all complaints. We must ensure that the building is used as intended. Different building code requirements apply to residential buildings, including those for short-term stays. These codes ensure people are using spaces safely,” said Patrick Hannan, spokesman for the building control board.
If violations of the building regulations are found, the authority issues a public notice.
Following Musk’s purchase of Twitter, some workers publicly said they were sleeping in the office amid heavy work demands.
Last month it was Esther Crawford, Director of Product Management at Twitter photographed in a sleeping bag and wearing an eye mask in what appeared to be a conference room.
“When your team is pushing 24/7 to meet deadlines #SleepWhereYouWork,” she wrote in a tweet, playing with the hashtag #LoveWhereYouWork.
Musk himself posted in a now-deleted tweet that he would work and sleep at headquarters “until the org is fixed.”
Twitter, which fired its communications team, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shorenstein, which owns 1355 Market St. with JPMorgan Chase, declined to comment.
Twitter’s 2011 lease with a Shorenstein company, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, says the landlord “may reasonably withhold consent” if Twitter attempts to lease its space to a “facility for the provision of social, social or clinical facilities” to sub-rent health services or sleeping accommodations (whether temporarily, during the day or overnight). The lease does not appear to indicate whether Twitter could operate sleeping accommodations itself.
The 1355 Market St. building is located in a downtown General Commercial zoning district that allows for high-density office, hotel, entertainment and residential uses.
In April, Musk tweeted a now-deleted poll titled “Turn Twitter SF HQ into a homeless shelter since nobody’s showing up anyway,” in what appeared to be a criticism of the company’s remote work policy, which he later abandoned. Dan Sider, chief of staff at the city planning authority, told Bloomberg CityLab at the time that “from a regulatory standpoint, converting this building into a homeless shelter would be fairly straightforward.”
Supervisor Aaron Peskin called for a Board of Supervisors hearing Tuesday for more information about the reported bedroom modifications. Peskin said he also wants to determine “whether or not people on H-1B visas (holders) are being exploited as part of the labor practice.” H-1B visa holders must keep their specialty jobs or, if fired, find new ones within 60 days to retain their skilled worker special permit and remain in the United States
Peskin said he looks forward to hearing more from city officials “as we examine the current government’s apparent excesses on Twitter.”
Regardless of the California Labor Federation said Tuesday that Twitter terminated a contract with union janitors a day after a strike and picketing outside headquarters. Fired Twitter employees are also seeking arbitration over allegations that the company failed to deliver promised severance packages and issued mandatory layoffs.
Chronicle contributor JD Morris contributed to this report.
Roland Li is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @rolandlisf
