Judge Allows AI Discrimination Lawsuit Against Workday to Proceed

A federal judge has allowed a class-action lawsuit to proceed against Workday, alleging the company's artificial intelligence screening tools discriminate against job applicants based on age, race, and disability. In the case of Mobley v. Workday, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin dismissed claims that the company intentionally discriminated against applicants, but ruled that the software may have a disparate impact on protected groups.

Workday denied the allegations, asserting that its technology focuses exclusively on job qualifications and does not make final hiring decisions. The company stated that its tools are designed with human oversight and undergo rigorous testing through a Responsible AI program to prevent harm to protected groups.

The legal challenge is part of a growing trend of AI-related employment litigation. Similar lawsuits have been filed against Meta over the use of AI in layoff selections and Eightfold AI Inc. regarding the use of AI to compile credit reports for employee ranking. A class certification hearing for the Workday case is scheduled for March in San Francisco.