A federal judge in California just gave the green light to a major class action lawsuit that should be on every employer’s radar. The allegation? That Workday’s AI-powered job recommendation system discriminates against job seekers age 40 and up. Read on for more…
What’s the Case About?
Derek Mobley and four additional plaintiffs claim they applied to hundreds of jobs via Workday—and didn’t get a single interview. Now, a judge has preliminarily certified a class of potentially millions of job seekers aged 40+ who may have been unfairly screened out since September 2020.
The lawsuit is based on disparate impact—not intentional bias, but that Workday’s AI may have systematically filtered out older applicants at disproportionate rates. That’s enough for the court to let the case move forward.
“They were allegedly required to compete on unequal footing due to Workday’s discriminatory AI recommendations,” said the judge.
Why Should Employers Care?
Because even though this case targets Workday, your company could be next.
Workday tried to dodge liability, arguing it’s not an employer. But the judge ruled otherwise: Workday acts as an agent for employers, which makes this very relevant to every business using its system—or any AI-powered hiring tool. Workday also argued that the case shouldn’t be allowed to proceed as a class action lawsuit. Why? Since there are potentially hundreds of millions of people that could claim to be affected, the class would be too big to have commonality, and too big to identify members. The judge didn’t feel that allegedly widespread discrimination should prevent class certification, reasoning that “the challenges do not appear insurmountable”.
And this isn’t the first AI discrimination case. In 2023, the EEOC settled with iTutorGroup for $365,000 over an AI tool that rejected older applicants based on age and gender.
It probably won’t be the last such case either…
The Bottom Line: You Are Still Responsible
Using third-party tech doesn’t shield you from liability. If your hiring process relies on algorithms, you’re still on the hook for ensuring compliance with anti-discrimination laws.
In this case, the plaintiff(s) decided only to sue the AI platform (probably based on who was likely to have the deeper pocket). The truth is the employers could also have been named as defendants. For all we know they may yet be joined as defendants. It’s still early…
Action Steps for Employers
🔍 Audit your AI tools. Understand exactly how they screen and rank applicants.
📊 Monitor hiring data. Look at who’s applying, who’s being interviewed, and who’s being hired. Any patterns that suggest bias? If so, address them sooner rather than later.
👩‍⚖️ Talk to legal counsel. Have your employment attorney review your processes and platforms for potential risks.
🧠Use your own judgment. AI can be helpful—but don’t outsource all your hiring decisions to a black box.
One Final Thought
The companies using Workday may have missed out on top-tier talent because of flawed algorithms. Don’t let that be you.
AI is powerful—but unchecked, it’s risky. Be vigilant. Be proactive. Be fair.
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