Workday's AI Tools Allegedly Enabled Employers to Discriminate against Applicants of Protected Groups

A class action lawsuit was filed in the Northern District Court of California against Workday, an HR and payroll SaaS company, alleging their AI-powered recruitment screening system discriminates against certain groups. The plaintiff, Derek Mobley, a Black man over 40 with anxiety and depression, applied for 80-100 positions since 2018 at companies using Workday's screening tools and was denied employment every time despite holding a bachelor's degree in finance from Morehouse College and an associate's degree in network systems administration from ITT Technical Institute. The lawsuit claims Workday's algorithm-based applicant screening system unlawfully determines whether employers should accept or reject job applications based on race, age, and disability status. The complaint alleges that Workday's selection tools allow customers to configure them in discriminatory ways and that the algorithms rely on subjective practices resulting in biases against African-American applicants, those over 40, and those with disabilities. The plaintiff argues the AI systems incorporate built-in conscious and unconscious human motivations to discriminate. Workday denied the allegations, stating the lawsuit was without merit and that they are committed to trustworthy AI with responsible design and delivery practices.