A class-action lawsuit targeting HR and finance platform Workday Inc. offers a cautionary tale for companies that use AI tools in their hiring decisions. The lawsuit claims that Workday’s AI-based applicant-recommendation system scored and then discriminated against job applicants on the basis of race, age and disability.
The moment AI is used to screen, test, rank or make any kind of recommendation, it becomes a selection tool that must be validated, Bracewell’s Brian Patterson told The Business Journals.
“But most AI tools operate as ‘black boxes’ that make required bias testing nearly impossible to conduct,” Patterson said. “Employers will need to treat AI hiring tools like any other selection criteria and obtain confidence from AI vendors that these tools do not have disparate impact on protected groups.”
