EEOC Files Amicus Brief in Case Over Artificial Intelligence Screening of Job Applicants
On April 9, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination – filed an amicus brief arguing that a human resources (HR) software firm may qualify as an “employment agency” subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other laws,” according to a report from Reuters.
Reuters reported that the amicus brief filed in a San Francisco federal court in support of the Plaintiff in a class action lawsuit argued the Defendant HR software firm “must face a proposed class action alleging that it violated federal anti-bias laws by using artificial intelligence-powered software to screen out job applicants for other employers for discriminatory reasons.”
In the amicus brief, the EEOC urged a federal judge to reject Defendant’s pending motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that it is not an employer or employment agency under Title VII, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against job applicants because of Race, Color, Religion, Sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), or National Origin.
The brief stated the Plaintiff — who claimed he was rejected for over 100 jobs he applied for using the software because he is Black, over 40, and has anxiety and depression — had plausibly alleged the Defendant’s “algorithmic tools perform precisely the same screening and referral functions as traditional employment agencies — albeit by more sophisticated means.”
The brief also cited EEOC technical assistance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that stated a software vendor acts as an employer’s agent “if the employer has given [the vendor] significant authority to act on the employer’s behalf,” which “may include situations where an employer relies on the results of a selection procedure that the agent administers on its behalf.”
The amicus brief concluded that — under the allegations set forth in the first amended complaint — the Plaintiff had sufficiently pleaded that the HR software firm “is subject to Title VII, the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990], and the ADEA [Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967] as an employment agency, indirect employer, or agent of employers.”
ClearStar is a global Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by employers coming under increased scrutiny by the U.S. government was the top trend in ClearStar’s “2023 Top Trends in Workforce Screening” white paper. To learn more, contact ClearStar.
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