California Judge Upholds Discrimination Claims In Lawsuit Filed Against Workday’s AI Job Screening Tools – AfroTech

A California judge has upheld some discrimination claims brought against Workday regarding its AI-powered screening tools for hiring.

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, a lawsuit was filed against Workday as a result of allegations that its AI-powered hiring tools discriminated against applicants based on race, disability, and age — particularly those over 40 years old. Derek Mobley, who filed the lawsuit in 2023, claims he applied for more than 100 jobs but did not receive a single offer despite his qualifications, including a bachelor’s degree in finance from Morehouse College. Mobley is Black, disabled, and was in his 40s at the time.

Judge Rita F. Lin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied Workday’s attempt to dismiss the complaint in 2024 and determined that Mobley’s age discrimination claim could proceed as a collective action lawsuit with other plaintiffs, per the outlet. Jill Hughes is another plaintiff in the lawsuit who claims she received rejection notices too quickly or outside normal business hours and alleges a “human did not review the applications.”

In the latest update, Judge Lin has upheld the plaintiffs’ more recent claims and rejected Workday’s attempt to dismiss them, Reuters reports. The judge said that Workday could face discrimination claims under California law for its behavior at its​ state headquarters after the company claimed the state’s anti-discrimination laws did not cover its screening of applicants based outside California and applying for jobs in other states and countries.

Lin did not uphold plaintiff FaithLinh Rowe’s claims of race discrimination toward Asian Americans, as those allegations were not mentioned in the original arguments and were not permitted, according to Bloomberg Law. The judge upheld Hughes’ disability discrimination claim, stating it can proceed under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The judge also did not dismiss a claim that Workday’s software can filter job applications using “proxy indicators” of disability or illness, such as employment gaps, per Reuters.

In response to AFROTECH’s request for comment, Workday stated:

“The claims in the suit are false. Workday’s AI recruiting tools don’t make hiring decisions in California or anywhere else. Our customers maintain full control of their hiring processes and our tools are designed with human oversight at their core. Our technology looks only at job qualifications, not protected traits like race, age, or disability. We rigorously test our products as part of our Responsible AI program to confirm our tools do not harm protected groups.”