An applicant alleging that Workday’s AI tools are discriminatory asked a judge on Thursday to approve a nationwide class of potential plaintiffs (Mobley v. Workday, Inc.).
The individual and other opt-in plaintiffs said they received hundreds of quick rejections from roles advertised through Workday, including some during hours at which it would be unlikely for people to be working.
“It is thus reasonable to attribute any systematic disparate impact in the scoring of applicants to Workday’s policy of using algorithmic decision-making tools,” the applicant said in Thursday’s motion.
The plaintiffs attributed the rejections to their age and asked the court to certify a class of all individuals aged 40 and over who were denied employment recommendations through Workday’s job application platform since Sept. 24, 2020.
Workday previously told the court it could not be liable for discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act because it was functioning as a vendor, not an employer. The judge, however, said the company acts as an agent of employers and allowed parts of the lawsuit to move forward.
A Workday spokesperson said the company denies the allegations and believes the lawsuit is without merit.
