Lawsuit Targets Workday's AI Hiring Software

- The lead plaintiff in the case, Derek Mobley, is an African American man over the age of 40 with anxiety and depression who claims he was rejected from over 100 jobs after applying through Workday's platform. - The lawsuit alleges that Workday's AI screening tools function as an "agent" for employers and participate in the decision-making process by recommending or rejecting candidates, rather than just implementing criteria set by the employer. - At issue are specific Workday tools, including the "Candidate Skills Match," which rates applicants, and the "Workday Assessment Connector," which allegedly learns an employer's preferences and can decrease the recommendation rate for candidates in protected classes. - Workday has been ordered by the court to produce a list of its customers that have used the AI features in question; the company stated in court filings that its software rejected 1.1 billion applications during the relevant period. - This case is part of a larger trend of legal scrutiny over AI in hiring; several jurisdictions, including New York City and Illinois, have already enacted laws requiring transparency and bias audits for automated employment decision tools. - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has clarified that employers can be held liable for unintentional discrimination caused by AI tools, and a similar age discrimination lawsuit was previously settled with the tutoring company iTutorGroup for $365,000. - Research has shown that AI can perpetuate and amplify human biases; a Stanford study in October 2025 found that AI resume-screeners gave higher ratings to older male candidates based on the same data used for female and younger candidates. - The collective action covers all individuals aged 40 and over who applied for jobs through Workday's platform since September 24, 2020, and were denied an employment recommendation.