Artificial Intelligence In Hiring: Lessons From Mobley v. Workday For Nigerian Data Protection Compliance

BACKGROUND

In February 2023, a disabled 40 year old African American job applicant named Derek Mobley, filed a discrimination lawsuit against Human Resources (HR) software vendor Workday, Inc. in the Northern District of California. Mobley alleged that Workday's automated resume-screening tools rejected his applications for more than 80 roles, discriminating against him on the basis of race, age and disability. Although the court initially dismissed the case in January 2024 for failing to show that Workday was an "employment agency," Mobley filed an action in court in February 2024, emphasizing that Workday's system could evaluate resumes without human oversight and make recommendations that effectively determine who advances to interview.