California Court Approves Collective Age Bias Lawsuit Against AI Hiring Software

Recently, in a landmark AI hiring bias case, a federal court in California took a significant step and allowed a collective action to proceed against Workday, Inc. over allegations that its artificial intelligence (AI) hiring tools discriminate against job seekers aged 40 and above. This decision could impact millions of employees across the U.S. and raises crucial questions about how computer programs used in job applications treat job applicants unfairly. 

Case Background

A man above the age of 40, who, for purposes of this article, we will refer to as D.M., brought forward the case against Workday Inc. alongside four other plaintiffs over the age of 40. The lawsuit alleges that the individuals applied for hundreds of jobs via Workday and were rejected almost every time without getting an interview. According to the lawsuit, these rejections were not random. Instead, the plaintiffs believe they were unfairly screened out of the job opportunities by Workday’s AI recommendation system. The claimants allege that these rejections point to a bias in the system, particularly against older applicants.  

The defendant in this case provides human resources software used by various companies to manage the hiring process. Its platform features several tools that use AI and machine learning to assess job applicants. D.M. and the other plaintiffs claim that these tools are trained on biased data and make decisions that lead to older candidates being ranked lower or entirely screened out. 

Court Grants Preliminary Certification

D.M. and the other plaintiffs sought a preliminary certification of a collective action on the age discrimination claim. A collective action, similar to a class action, requires people to “opt in” to the lawsuit if they want to. The defendant opposed certification on various grounds, claiming, among other things, that it does not offer employment recommendations, meaning applicants do not belong to the proposed collective, and that the policy at issue is different across employees and applicants. 

In late May, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin granted the preliminary certification. This means that individuals aged 40 and above who applied for jobs via Workday’s system and were allegedly denied employment recommendations can now be notified of the lawsuit and join it if they wish to do so. According to the court, the plaintiffs sufficiently alleged the existence of a unified policy: the use of Workday’s AI system to screen, sort, and rank applicants. Additionally, the judge determined that complete uniformity among the members of the collective was not a must. Instead, the critical aspect was that they were pushed to compete under unequal conditions as a result of the same AI-based decision-making process.

The court instructed the parties to engage in additional discovery and develop a plan to notify possible members of the collective. Given the defendant’s broad reach in the employment market, the collection could potentially include a vast number of people. Judge Lin made it clear that even if the collective is in the “hundreds of millions” of people, it is not a basis to refuse to provide notice.

If you are 40 years or older and applied for a job through Workday’s system but were rejected without an interview, you may have been affected. You might be able to join the collective action and uncover if the company’s AI tools created an unfair obstacle for you.

Contact a California Employment Lawyer

If you believe you might be eligible to join the lawsuit, contact a California employment lawyer near you for legal guidance.