Lawsuit Targets Workday's AI Hiring Software

- The lead plaintiff, Derek Mobley, is a Black, disabled man over the age of 40 who alleges he was rejected from more than 100 jobs after applying through Workday's platform. - The lawsuit was initially filed in February 2023, alleging discrimination based on race, age, and disability. The court has allowed the case to proceed as a nationwide collective action specifically for applicants aged 40 and over who were denied employment recommendations since September 2020. - The core legal argument is that Workday's AI tools create a "disparate impact," meaning they disproportionately and illegally screen out protected groups, even if the discrimination is unintentional. - Plaintiffs claim the AI algorithms may learn from and amplify existing, historical biases in hiring data, effectively automating discriminatory practices. - Workday denies the allegations, stating the lawsuit is without merit and that its software does not make hiring decisions. The company maintains that its customers have full control over the hiring process and that its tools only match candidate qualifications to the employer's stated job requirements. - A key ruling in the case allows Workday to be considered an "agent" of the employers using its software. This is significant because it could establish a precedent for holding AI vendors, not just the employers themselves, liable for discriminatory outcomes. - The use of AI in hiring is widespread, with estimates suggesting that as many as 87% of companies utilize it for recruitment. - This is not the first instance of bias found in AI hiring tools; Amazon famously discontinued its own AI recruiting tool after discovering it was biased against women.