As artificial intelligence becomes more common in workplace hiring, concerns are growing that these tools may introduce or reinforce bias. Those concerns are central to Mobley v. Workday Inc., a proposed class action filed in 2023 alleging that Workday’s algorithmic applicant-screening tools discriminated on the basis of age, race, and disability in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Workday is a workforce management platform that helps companies streamline hiring and recruitment. Some of Workday’s tools use artificial intelligence to screen applicants. The complaint alleges that Workday’s products use artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other algorithmic tools to screen, evaluate, rank, and recommend or screen out job applicants. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that Workday’s screening and recommendation systems can reproduce or amplify discriminatory preferences reflected in employer or workforce data, resulting in applicants in protected groups being recommended or screened out at different rates.
The plaintiffs proceed under disparate-impact theories, which generally challenge facially neutral employment practices that disproportionately disadvantage members of protected groups without requiring proof of intentional discrimination. In June 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted in part and denied in part Workday’s motion to dismiss, allowing most of the discrimination claims to proceed.
The case underscores the growing legal risks associated with employers’ use of AI tools in hiring. Although plaintiffs seek to hold Workday itself responsible for the alleged discrimination, rather than the employers that use its technology, employers should use caution when adopting these tools. The case may preview how courts will address future lawsuits brought directly against employers that use AI tools alleged to introduce or reinforce bias.