A contentious legal case challenging the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) definition of an employment agency is currently underway, as Workday Inc.’s artificial intelligence (AI) hiring tool faces claims of discrimination.
The EEOC has submitted an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff who alleges that the AI-based tool discriminated against him and other job seekers. This move has sparked widespread skepticism about the EEOC’s stance that software vendors, rather than just employers, can be liable in such discrimination cases.
Targeting AI-related discriminatory hiring practices is on the top of the EEOC’s enforcement priority list. The commission has previously brought at least one lawsuit regarding this issue and issued a technical assistance document for employers. However, its efforts to establish that vendors of AI tools share liability has been met with resistance.
This contentious case tests the boundaries of the EEOC’s scope and could potentially reshape our understanding of employment agency definition in the era of AI. This is not merely a topic of debate for lawyers and corporations but has wider implications for society, as AI-based tools are increasingly being integrated into human resources operations.