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September 24, 2020–that’s an important date. It’s the day that starts the count for applications under consideration for an age bias lawsuit against Workday, Inc.
If you’ve applied for ANY jobs since that date, you most likely applied using the Workday portal. And, if you were at least 40 years old at the time of your application, you may want to join this collective action lawsuit.
Read this article to understand the origins of the case, or skip to the last paragraph to learn more about how to add your name to the complaint. (Note: you will need to confirm your email after submitting your name.)
AI Hiring Enters Uncharted Legal Territory: What The Workday Case Signals
A federal court has authorized—and notice is now being distributed to—potential opt-in plaintiffs in a closely watched hiring discrimination lawsuit that could become the largest collective action in U.S. history. The ruling stems from legal proceedings in Mobley v. Workday, Inc., a 2023 federal case in Northern California alleging that AI-based hiring systems unlawfully screened out qualified applicants. Among the claims are violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects workers age 40 and older from employment discrimination.
Founded in 2005, Workday provides enterprise cloud software for finance and human resources and reports serving more than 65% of the Fortune 500, including over 70% of the top 50 companies, with customers operating in 175 countries. That scale is central to the case. Thousands of employers rely on Workday’s AI-enabled hiring tools to screen applications and determine who advances in the hiring process.
A Landmark Legal Question
Derek Mobley, a Black applicant over 40, alleges that he applied to more than 100 jobs with companies using Workday’s AI-based hiring tools over several years and was rejected every time. According to his February 2023 filing, many rejections arrived within minutes or hours—including overnight—leading him to argue that automated systems, not human reviewers, made early screening decisions.
Workday sought dismissal, arguing that employers—not software vendors—make hiring decisions. But in July 2024, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin ruled that Mobley could proceed. The case now raises a landmark question: Can federal employment discrimination laws apply to third-party software vendors whose tools materially shape hiring outcomes?
Mobley brought claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the ADEA and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In early 2025, he sought court authorization to pursue his age discrimination claim as a collective action, allowing other applicants age 40 and over to opt in. Workday argued that identifying potential collective members would be overly burdensome given the scale of its platform. Judge Lin disagreed, writing that allegedly widespread discrimination “is not a basis for denying notice.”
Workday’s Position
On its website, Workday maintains that its AI tools do not discriminate against applicants based on protected characteristics, including age. The company states that its AI does not make hiring decisions or automatically reject candidates and that customers retain full control and human oversight throughout their hiring processes.
Workday is not the first federal case to raise concerns about AI-driven hiring tools. In 2023, the EEOC charged iTutorGroup with age discrimination, alleging its AI system automatically rejected older applicants. That case resulted in a settlement including monetary relief and corrective measures, marking the first known federal enforcement action targeting alleged discriminatory outcomes of an AI recruiting tool.
What Applicants Age 40+ Should Know
The court-authorized notice applies specifically to age-based claims under the ADEA. Individuals age 40 and over who received a rejection after applying through Workday’s application platform since September 24, 2020, may review the official notice and submit a court-approved consent-to-join form through the case website.
Importantly, individuals do not need to receive a notice directly to participate. Notices are intended to inform potential participants, not to limit who may opt in. Any individual who believes they fall within the defined scope may proactively file a consent to join.
This article first appeared on the Forbes platform and is adapted here for the AEA community.
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