Workday asks judge to block class action over AI hiring screening
HR software giant Workday is asking a federal judge to stop potentially millions of job applicants from suing it together over allegations its AI-powered screening software discriminated based on race, sex, age and disability.
The filing landed Tuesday in San Francisco federal court, targeting a bid to certify classes of applicants who allege discrimination. Workday's core argument is that it does not make hiring decisions—its customers do. The company claims without evidence that it made hiring decisions, there's no commonality for class treatment.
The case, Mobley v. Workday Inc., was first brought in February 2023 with four named plaintiffs. They are seeking certification for four subclasses covering African American applicants, women, applicants age 40 and older, and applicants with disabilities.
Lead plaintiff's allegations
Lead plaintiff Derek L. Mobley, a Black man over 40, alleges he was rejected from more than 100 job applications. He and three co-plaintiffs claim they faced repeated automated rejections, alleging Workday's AI screening features were behind the discrimination.
Workday processes hundreds of millions of applications each year, reporting more than 356 million applications in 2024 alone.
Legal battle timeline
This isn't the first procedural round. In May 2025, an age-discrimination collective was preliminarily certified, with over 15,000 individuals opting in by October 2026. Workday filed motions on November 10-11 opposing certification of the broader proposed classes.
Plaintiffs' replies to Workday's opposition are due by December 8, 2026. A hearing on class certification is scheduled for March 9, 2027. The case has been described as one of the first significant legal actions directly targeting an AI hiring vendor.
Industry implications
For the HR tech industry, the case raises a critical question: Is the company that builds the screening tool liable for how it sorts candidates, or only the employer that clicks the final button? Workday's defense leans heavily on the latter position.
If Workday prevails, vendors gain a powerful argument that customer-specific setups break the chain of common evidence needed for mass claims. If plaintiffs win certification, vendors could face group liability tied to product design, not just customer choices.
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