Background
In Mobley v Workday, Derek Mobley alleged that Workday’s AI-driven screening tools used by employer-clients discriminated against applicants based on race, age, and disability. The court granted in part and denied in part Workday’s motion to dismiss: the federal discrimination claims may proceed on an agency theory (while the “employment agency” theory was dismissed), and the disparate-impact claims were not dismissed; the case is ongoing.
AI interaction
‘Workday’s software is not simply implementing in a rote way the criteria that employers set forth, but is instead participating in the decision-making process by recommending some candidates to move forward and rejecting others.’ The order recognizes that third-party AI vendors can face liability as agents where traditional hiring functions are delegated to them, closing a potential liability gap when employers outsource decision-making to automated tools.
Note: Mobley v. Workday is a leading, ongoing test case on AI vendor liability in employment discrimination. Its progression to discovery and conditional class certification makes it a key precedent to follow in AI employment law.