An IT worker in North Carolina has sued software firm Workday, alleging its recruiting platform rejected over 100 of his job applications for several years based on his age and race, a report by the Wall Street Journal said.
Derek Mobley said that he applied for more than 100 jobs from 2017 to 2019 and later, but was met with rejection or silence each time, with emails turning him down arriving late in the night or just an hour after he submitted his application.
The 50-year-old noticed that most of the companies he applied to used an online recruiting platform created by Workday, which helps track and screen job candidates.
‘It did not make sense’
In 2023, Mobley sued Workday, claiming its algorithm screened him out, based on his age, race and disabilities. Mobley, an African-American man who suffers from anxiety and depression, said that he applied for a job he knew he was qualified for, so the multiple rejections just did not make sense.
“There’s a standard bell curve in statistics. It didn’t make sense that my failure rate was 100%,” he said.
Last month, California said Mobley’s claim could proceed, opening the door to millions of potential claims from job seekers over 40.
Workday has argued that its software matches keywords on CVs with job qualifications and scores applicants. It said that while employer clients can set up questions that lead to automatic rejections, the software lets the employer make the final decision on candidates.
“There’s no evidence that the technology results in harm to protected groups,” the company said.
Did not get one interview
However, Mobely said that he applied for over two years and didn’t get a single interview. “It dawned on me that this must be some kind of server reviewing these applications and turning me down,” he said.
He alleged that the software rejected him because it picked up on his age, race and detected his anxiety and depression through personality tests.
Experts have said scoring systems can reject qualified workers for various reasons, such as gaps in their resumes or a lack of matching qualifications.