Lawsuit against Workday over AI hiring bias moves forward
A federal court in California has authorized a collective action lawsuit notice in *Mobley v. Workday, Inc.* The lawsuit alleges that Workday's AI-powered hiring software results in age discrimination against job applicants. The court's decision allows potential class members to be notified, advancing a significant legal challenge to the use of AI in corporate recruitment processes.
- The plaintiff, Derek Mobley, alleges he was rejected for over 100 jobs using Workday's platform. The suit claims that Workday's AI-powered screening tools discriminate against applicants based on age (over 40), race, and disability. - A key legal argument is that Workday acts as an "agent" for the employers using its software. In July 2024, the court dismissed the claim that Workday was an "employment agency" but allowed the "agent" theory of liability to proceed, a decision supported by an amicus brief from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). - In May 2025, a federal judge in the Northern District of California granted conditional certification for the lawsuit to proceed as a nationwide collective action under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). This allows other applicants over the age of 40 who were screened by Workday's AI since September 2020 to join the suit. - Workday's defense asserts that it is not responsible for hiring decisions; rather, its corporate clients are. The company maintains that its AI tools do not identify protected characteristics and that customers retain full control over the hiring process. - The court's ruling rejected Workday's argument that the varying ways its clients use the tools would prevent collective treatment. The judge determined that the core issue is the alleged "unified policy" of using Workday's AI system to score and screen applicants, which allegedly denied them the ability to compete on equal footing. - The lawsuit also includes claims regarding Workday's "branded assessment and/or personality test," which the plaintiff alleges are unlawful inquiries designed to screen for mental health conditions. - This case is considered a significant test of how civil rights and anti-discrimination laws apply to AI vendors. Its outcome could establish a precedent for holding technology companies liable for biases embedded in their hiring algorithms.
