Workday AI Hiring Screening — Mobley v. Workday Collective Action

Summary

A private lawsuit filed in February 2023 alleges that Workday's AI applicant-screening tools disadvantaged applicants on the basis of race, age and disability. In July 2024 the Northern District of California dismissed the intentional-discrimination claims and the employment-agency theory but let disparate-impact claims proceed, holding that Workday was plausibly an agent of its client employers and so could be liable as an employer. The EEOC took part only as amicus (April 2024). The court conditionally certified an age-discrimination collective in May 2025 and in July 2025 confirmed that it covers applicants screened with the HiredScore AI features, for applications from September 24, 2020. In May 2026 a magistrate judge held Workday's bias-testing data privileged because its lawyers curated it to give legal advice, but ordered Workday to produce its own EEO-1 and OFCCP compliance documents as relevant to its knowledge of demographic disparities. On June 22, 2026, the court dismissed one plaintiff's race claim and the claims about Workday's own hiring but let California FEHA claims and an ADA claim proceed; on July 2, 2026, it refused to certify that ruling for interlocutory appeal. Plaintiffs moved for class certification on September 14, 2026, with a hearing set for March 9, 2027. As of October 19, 2026, the case is in discovery, with no ruling on the merits.

Consequence

• July 2024: intentional-discrimination claims dismissed; disparate-impact claims allowed to proceed on an agent theory
• May 16, 2025: ADEA collective conditionally certified
• May 2026: Workday's bias-testing data held privileged
• May 2026: Workday ordered to produce its EEO-1 and OFCCP documents
• June 22, 2026: direct-employer claims dismissed; FEHA claims allowed to proceed

Who caught it The person affected, A courtFound outside the organization

Key dates

1. February 21, 2023Event
2. October 16, 2026Checked against sources
3. October 18, 2026Checked against sources
4. October 19, 2026Checked against sources
5. October 21, 2026Checked against sources

Developments are added when the record is reviewed. Next review: January 19, 2027.

Evidence

Each passage is quoted from its source. The quoted passages are re-checked against the live pages every month.

1. Case #: 3:23-cv-00770 Date Filed: 04-09-2024 Brief Type: Amicus

   Supports: EEOC role was an amicus brief (April 9, 2024), not an enforcement action

   Mobley v. Workday, Inc. (amicus brief listing) U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Primary source

2. Case 3:23-cv-00770-TSH Document 1 Filed 02/21/23

   Supports: filing date February 21, 2023

   Complaint, Mobley v. Workday, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-00770 (N.D. Cal.), ECF 1 U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source

3. In sum, the FAC adequately alleges that Workday is an agent of its client-employers, and thus falls within the definition of an "employer" for purposes of Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA.

   Supports: agent-liability holding

   the motion to dismiss is GRANTED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND as to the Title VII, ADEA, and ADA claims, to the extent they are based on an employment agency theory, and the intentional discrimination claims under Title VII, the ADEA, and Section 1981

   Supports: intentional-discrimination and employment-agency claims dismissed; other claims proceed

   Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion to Dismiss, ECF 80 (12 July 2024) U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source

4. Mobley's claims cleared a second hurdle on May 16, 2025, when the Court granted conditional certification of the ADEA claims.

   Supports: ADEA collective conditionally certified May 16, 2025

   AI Bias Lawsuit Against Workday Reaches Next Stage as Court Grants Conditional Certification of ADEA Claim Proskauer, Law and the Workplace (June 2025) Reporting or analysis

5. the preliminary collective definition includes individuals who submitted applications from September 24, 2020 to the present

   Supports: collective period from September 24, 2020; HiredScore features within scope

   Order re HiredScore Dispute, ECF 158 (29 July 2025) U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source

6. The Court denied Plaintiffs’ motion to compel production of Workday’s bias-testing data, finding that the attorney-client privilege protects the data because Workday’s attorneys curated it and used the results in providing legal advice.

   Supports: May 2026 ruling: bias-testing data privileged

   However, the Court ordered production of Workday’s EEO-1 and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) documents, finding those documents to be relevant to Workday’s knowledge of potential demographic disparities when utilizing its AI tools.

   Supports: May 2026 ruling: EEO-1 and OFCCP documents ordered produced

   California Federal Court Clarifies Limits On AI Bias Testing And Applicant Data Disclosure In Mobley v. Workday Duane Morris Class Action Defense Blog (June 2, 2026) Reporting or analysis

7. 3. The Motion to Dismiss and to Strike Plaintiffs’ direct employer claim(s) about Workday’s own hiring and recruitment is GRANTED

   Supports: June 22, 2026: direct-employer claims dismissed

   4. The Motion to Dismiss the FEHA claims is otherwise DENIED;

   Supports: June 22, 2026: FEHA claims proceed

   Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion to Dismiss, ECF 360 (22 June 2026) U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source

8. ORDER Signed by Judge Rita F. Lin on 7/2/2026 DENYING 286 MOTION FOR CERTIFICATION UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 1292(B).

   Supports: July 2, 2026: interlocutory appeal certification denied

   MOTION to Certify Class filed by Jill E. Hughes, Sheilah Johnson-Rocha, Derek L. Mobley, Faithlinh Rowe. Motion to Certify Class Hearing set for 3/9/2027 10:00 AM in San Francisco, Courtroom 15, 18th Floor before Judge Rita F. Lin. Responses due by 11/10/2026.

   Supports: September 14, 2026, class certification motion; hearing March 9, 2027

   Mobley v. Workday, Inc., docket (newest first) U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source