Tech Firm Workday Faces Discrimination Lawsuit Over AI Job Screening Technology
A California district judge has allowed a collective action lawsuit against Workday to proceed, alleging that the company’s job applicant screening technology is discriminatory. The lawsuit, led by Derek Mobley, claims that Workday’s algorithms rejected him from over 100 jobs due to his age, race, and disabilities.
The case could set a precedent for how companies use algorithms and artificial intelligence in hiring decisions. As companies increasingly adopt this technology, experts worry about AI containing biases that prevent people from getting hired based on characteristics like age, gender, or race.
Workday’s platform is used by over 11,000 organizations worldwide to manage hiring processes. The company offers a service called “HiredScore AI,” which it claims uses “responsible AI” to grade top candidates and reduce screening time for recruiters. However, the plaintiffs argue that this technology “disproportionately disqualifies individuals over the age of forty (40) from securing gainful employment.”
The lawsuit alleges that Workday’s technology screens and ranks applicants in a way that discriminates against older candidates. Mobley and four other plaintiffs, all over 40, claim they submitted hundreds of job applications through Workday and were rejected each time, often within minutes or hours.
Experts warn that AI hiring tools can demonstrate bias even if companies don’t instruct them to favor certain groups. These systems are often trained on existing employees’ resumes or profiles, which can lead to reinforcing historical discrimination if the workforce is predominantly male or white.
Hilke Schellmann, author of “The Algorithm” and an investigative reporter at New York University, notes that AI systems can make decisions based on seemingly irrelevant factors. For instance, one resume evaluation tool awarded more points to resumes with the word “baseball” over “softball,” likely due to the prevalence of male candidates in the training data.
The American Civil Liberties Union has warned that AI hiring tools pose a significant risk of exacerbating existing workplace discrimination. In 2018, Amazon discontinued an automated job candidate ranking tool after discovering it favored male applicants over women.
Workday has denied the allegations, stating that its technology is not discriminatory and that it does not make hiring decisions for its customers. The company claims it will defend itself with facts and is confident the plaintiff’s claims will be dismissed.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order to change Workday’s practices. The judge’s order allows Mobley’s lawyers to notify others with potential discrimination claims against Workday, who can then join the suit.
