Acting as a “friend of the court”, EEOC advises AI Resume Screening Tool “Workday” is Subject to Federal Anti-Discrimination

 

This article totally caught our eye in Compliance!  On April 9, 2024, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") filed a motion for leave to file a brief to support plaintiff's motion to dismiss.

 

This aligns with the guidance EEOC provided in 2022 about the intersection of AI hiring tools and the ADA.  

 

The plaintiff brought the lawsuit against the software vendor Workday, Inc. ("Workday"), alleging that Workday violated Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), and the ADA, because it's screening tools to employers that rejected his applications for employment.  Originally, the plaintiff stated that Workday was an “employment agency.”  This case was dismissed because the plaintiff did not allege any details about his application process, except that he applied for jobs through Workday.

 

In February of 2024, the plaintiff filed their first amended complaint, a revised version of the original complaint, at which they attempted to provide additional details supporting his “employment agency” theory of liability.

 

The EEOC does decline to take a position as to the truth or accuracy of the allegations, however the EEOC does argue that the first amended complaint does pled that Workday was subject to Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA under three separate theories.

 

If accepted, the EEOC's position would expand the entities subject to federal anti-discrimination laws and the EEOC's oversight.

You can read more of the article here.
 

Source(s): JD Supra, received on April 29, 2024; Thomas Reuters, accessed on May 10, 2024; Epstein Becker Green, accessed on May 10, 2024; EEOC, accessed on May 10, 2024.