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Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Lawsuit alleges Workday is discriminating against over-40s
Major tech firm Workday is facing a collective action lawsuit alleging that a feature of its recruitment tech is discriminatory against applicants over 40. In 2024, Derek Mobley sued Workday, a company that provides tech to help firms with hiring and workforce management. He alleged that the company's job applicant screening algorithm meant that he was rejected by more than 100 jobs over seven years due to his age, race and disabilities. Mobley is a black man over the age of 40 who identifies as having anxiety and depression. Four other plaintiffs over the age of 40 have since joined him with allegations of age discrimination. Earlier this month, California district judge Rita Lin ruled the lawsuit could move forward as a nationwide collective action - similar to a class action. The plaintiffs claim that they submitted hundreds of applications to the software but were rejected every time - sometimes within a matter of minutes. According to court documents, they claim Workday's AI-based hiring tools 'disproportionately disqualifies individuals over the age of forty (40) from securing gainful employment.' Workday denies the allegations. Some 11,000 companies worldwide use Workday, which provides a platform for firms to post job openings and manage the recruitment process. It also offers a service called 'HiredScore AI,' which it says uses 'responsible AI' to grade the best candidates and cut down the time recruiters spend screening applicants, CNN reported. In a court filing opposing the allegations, Workday claims it does not screen prospective employees and that its tech does not make decisions on hiring. AI tools can help businesses manage a sudden influx of thousands of applications. But critics of the tech are concerned that AI can contain biases that may deter people from being hired based on factors such as their age, gender or race. The case is still in its early stages. But it serves as a warning that employers could be held accountable for algorithmic screening tools if they disproportionately harm certain groups - even if the bias is unintentional. For example, The American Civil Liberties Union has previously warned that AI hiring tools 'pose an enormous danger of exacerbating existing discrimination in the workplace.' In 2018, Amazon had to scrap a 'sexist' AI hiring tool after it taught itself to prefer male candidates over females. Mobley claims he kept being rejected, often without being offered an interview, despite having almost a decade of experience and having graduated cum laude from Morehouse College. According to court documents, he alleges he once submitted a job application at 12:55am and had already received a rejection by 1:50am. Another plaintiff, Jill Hughes, claimed she also received automated rejections for hundreds of roles 'often received within a few hours of applying or at odd times outside of business hours … indicating a human did not review the applications,' CNN reported. In some cases, she claims the rejection emails falsely said she did not meet the minimum requirements for the role. Mobley's original complaint claims: 'Algorithmic decision-making and data analytics are not, and should not be assumed to be, race neutral, disability neutral, or age neutral. 'Too often, they reinforce and even exacerbate historical and existing discrimination.' Judge Lin's order on May 16 will allow Mobley's lawyers to notify other people who may have similar claims against Workday to join the lawsuit, but the company can still ask the court to deal with the claims individually.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Bombshell lawsuit says major US HR firm is discriminating against over-40s
Major tech firm Workday is facing a collective action lawsuit alleging that a feature of its recruitment tech is discriminatory against applicants over 40. In 2024, Derek Mobley sued Workday, a company which provides tech to help firms with hiring and workforce management. He alleged that the company's job applicant screening algorithm meant that he was rejected by more than 100 jobs over seven years due to his age, race and disabilities. Mobley is a black man over the age of 40 who identifies as having anxiety and depression. Four other plaintiffs over the age of 40 have since joined him with allegations of age discrimination. Earlier this month, California district judge Rita Lin ruled the lawsuit could move forward as a nationwide collective action - similar to a class action. The plaintiffs claim that they submitted hundreds of applications to the software but were rejected every time - sometimes within a matter of minutes. According to court documents, they claim Workday's AI-based hiring tools 'disproportionately disqualifies individuals over the age of forty (40) from securing gainful employment.' Workday denies the allegations. Some 11,000 companies worldwide use Workday, which provides a platform for firms to post job openings and manage the recruitment process. It also offers a service called 'HiredScore AI,' which it says uses 'responsible AI' to grade the best candidates and cut down the time recruiters spend screening applicants, CNN reported. In a court filing opposing the allegations, Workday claims it does not screen prospective employees and that its tech does not make decisions on hiring. AI tools can help businesses manage a sudden influx of thousands of applications. But critics of the tech are concerned that AI can contain biases which may deter people being hired based on factors such as their age, gender or race. The case is still in its early stages. But it serves as a warning that employers could be held accountable for algorithmic screening tools if they disproportionately harm certain groups - even if the bias is unintentional. For example, The American Civil Liberties Union has previously warned that AI hiring tools 'pose an enormous danger of exacerbating existing discrimination in the workplace.' In 2018, Amazon had to scrap a 'sexist' AI hiring tool after after it taught itself to prefer male candidates over females. Mobley claims he kept being rejected, often without being offered an interview, despite having almost a decade of experience and having graduated cum laude from Morehouse College. According to court documents, he alleges he once submitted a job application at 12:55am and had already received a rejection by 1:50am. Another plaintiff, Jill Hughes, claimed she also received automated rejections for hundreds of roles 'often received within a few hours of applying or at odd times outside of business hours … indicating a human did not review the applications,' CNN reported. In some cases, she claims the rejection emails falsely said she did not meet the minimum requirements for the role. Mobley's original complaint claims: 'Algorithmic decision-making and data analytics are not, and should not be assumed to be, race neutral, disability neutral, or age neutral. 'Too often, they reinforce and even exacerbate historical and existing discrimination.' Judge Lin's order on May 16 will allow Mobley's lawyers to notify other people who may have similar claims against Workday to join the lawsuit, but the company can still ask the court to deal with the claims individually. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order requiring the company to change its practices. 'We continue to believe this case is without merit. This is a preliminary, procedural ruling at an early stage of this case that relies on allegations, not evidence. 'The Court has not made any substantive findings against Workday, and has not ruled this case can go forward as a class action.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Lawsuit claiming discrimination by the Workday HR program could have huge impacts on how AI is used in hiring
Workday has been sued by multiple job candidates who claim that the human resources software firm's screening technology is discriminatory. The collective action lawsuit could have a huge impact on how artificial intelligence is used in the hiring process. Workday is used by thousands of organizations around the world to recruit new employees. Many companies use it as a first step in the hiring process. It's often the online portal where applications for jobs are submitted. One program that the HR company offers is called HiredScore AI. This service grades candidates through 'unbiased, AI-driven analysis,' according to the firm. The idea behind this program is to allow recruiters a quick way to sort through candidates. But several job candidates who have submitted applications through Workday have come forward, claiming the company's algorithms are discriminatory, based on age and other factors. Derek Mobley, a Morehouse College graduate with almost a decade of experience in financial, IT and customer service work, sued Workday last year, claiming that its algorithms led to more than 100 job application rejections over seven years because of his age, race and disabilities. Four other job candidates made similar discrimination claims. On Friday a California district judge ruled that the case can move forward as a collective action lawsuit. All of the plaintiffs are over the age of 40, and they claim that they have submitted hundreds of job applications through Workday collectively, only to get rejected each time. One of the plaintiffs, Jill Hughes, claimed that she received automated rejections for hundreds of submitted job applications 'often received within a few hours of applying or at odd times outside of business hours,' according to court documents. She claimed this indicated 'a human did not review the applications,' the documents read. Workday said in a statement to The Independent: 'We continue to believe this case is without merit. This is a preliminary, procedural ruling at an early stage of this case that relies on allegations, not evidence. 'The Court has not made any substantive findings against Workday, and has not ruled this case can go forward as a class action. We're confident that once Workday is permitted to defend itself with the facts, the plaintiff's claims will be dismissed.' In a collective action lawsuit, plaintiffs have to opt into it, whereas in a class action lawsuit, a large group of people is included in the case unless they opt out. Workday still has the option to ask for the claims to be handled by the court individually. Mobley's original complaint said that 'too often' algorithmic decision-making and data analysis tools 'reinforce and even exacerbate historical and existing discrimination.' If Mobley and the other plaintiffs are successful in their collective action suit, Workday may have to change its practices. This could have a dramatic effect on how companies use AI in future hiring processes to weed out candiates before a manager can even see their applications.
