Workday Must Face AI Hiring-Discrimination Claims — Federal Judge Rejects the 'We Just Provide the Tool' Defense

SHRM·medium signal

A federal judge ruled Workday must answer discrimination claims in the Mobley case, rejecting its defense that it merely supplies software — a precedent that puts every HR-tech vendor whose agents screen candidates (via proxies like employment gaps) on the hook for outcomes, not just the code. The ruling lands as Gartner reports 88% of HR leaders say they've seen no significant business value from AI tools despite broad adoption. For builders shipping automated screening or evaluation, this reframes liability: the agent's decisions are now the vendor's legal exposure.