Lawsuit alleges bias in a company’s automated hiring tools

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August 13, 2026

Megan Sayles, AFRO

Workday, a human resources software company, is in the midst of a lawsuit alleging its automated hiring and resume screening tools disproportionately disadvantage Black applicants, women, people with disabilities and workers over 40. Credit: Photo courtesy of Workday

Since 2017, Derek L. Mobley says he’s applied for more than 100 positions through Workday’s hiring platform, only to be rejected by each one despite meeting the jobs’ educational and experience requirements.

Mobley is the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the human resources software company. The suit alleges the company’s automated hiring and screening tools have a disparate impact on Black applicants, women, people with disabilities and workers over 40.

“Across these and numerous other applications, Mobley was rejected despite meeting or exceeding the stated qualifications for the positions,” the complaint states. “The timing of these rejections—often occurring within hours or even minutes of submission, including during overnight hours—supports a reasonable inference that Workday’s algorithmic decision-making tools automatically screened out Mobley’s applications.”

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