Derek Mobley, a 50-year-old African-American IT worker from North Carolina, has filed a lawsuit against Workday, alleging that its recruiting platform discriminated against him based on his age, race, and disabilities. Mobley claims he applied for over 100 jobs between 2017 and 2019 but faced rejection or silence each time, often receiving emails turning him down late at night or just an hour after submitting his application. Mobley noticed many of the companies he applied to were using an online recruiting platform created by Workday, which helps track and screen job candidates.
In 2023, he sued Workday, asserting that its hiring algorithms filtered him out based on his age, race, and his anxiety and depression through personality tests and other screening methods. “It didn’t make sense that my failure rate was 100%,” Mobley stated. His lawsuit argues the software discriminated against him by picking up on his protected characteristics.
Workday has defended its software, claiming it matches keywords on CVs with job qualifications and scores applicants based on these criteria. The company stated that while employers can set up questions leading to automatic rejections, the ultimate decision on candidates is made by the employer, not the software.
Age bias lawsuit challenges Workday’s platform
“There’s no evidence that the technology results in harm to protected groups,” Workday argued. Nevertheless, Mobley has maintained he did not receive a single interview during his two years of job applications. He suspects an automated system was responsible for his rejections.
Experts agree that scoring systems can reject qualified workers for various reasons, including gaps in resumes or a lack of matching qualifications. Last month, a California court allowed Mobley’s claim to proceed, potentially opening the door to many similar claims from job seekers over the age of 40. The lawsuit has become a significant challenge to the algorithms that make many hiring decisions today.
If Mobley’s challenge succeeds, it could prompt more regulation and scrutiny of automated hiring tools, requiring software companies and their clients to conduct more due diligence to avoid enshrining bias. “This isn’t a personal vendetta,” Mobley said, “I’m an honest law-abiding person trying to just get a job in an honest way.”
Deanna Ritchie is a managing editor at DevX. She has a degree in English Literature. She has written 2000+ articles on getting out of debt and mastering your finances. She has edited over 60,000 articles in her life. She has a passion for helping writers inspire others through their words. Deanna has also been an editor at Entrepreneur Magazine and ReadWrite.
