AI-powered HR platform Workday must face claims that its algorithmic screening tool was built with biased training data and disproportionately weeds out job applicants who are Black, disabled and over 40, a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled,

The 20-page decision, issued Friday by Judge Rita Lin of the Northern District of California, tees up a legal showdown over the use of AI in making hiring decisions that could have sweeping implications for U.S. employers and HR vendors.

Derek Mobley, who brought the case last year on behalf of a proposed class of thousands, said he was turned down for at least 100 jobs at companies that use Workday's screening software, including many Fortune 500 firms, even for similar roles he'd already held in industries where he had prior experience, including the insurer Unum and tech provider Hewlett-Packard Enterprise.