AI hiring platform Eightfold was sued in California state court this week, the latest example of a legal challenge questioning the use of AI in hiring practices.
The proposed class action, filed on behalf of job seekers who used the platform’s tools—or were evaluated by employers that did—charges that candidates were not properly notified of how their information was being used. According to a report in Reuters, this marks the first case of its kind to allege violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act by an AI hiring tool.
The suit centers on the predictive nature of Eightfold’s tool, particularly the “dossiers” Eightfold culls about job candidates from online data. Plaintiffs contend applicants have no knowledge of these reports, nor are they given the opportunity to review or dispute the findings within, which are fed into Eightfold’s proprietary AI to predict a candidate’s likelihood of success in a particular role.
The two named plaintiffs charge that the technology put them at a hiring disadvantage when they sought positions at Eightfold clients, including Microsoft and PayPal. According to Eightfold, it counts about one-third of the Fortune 500 among its clients.
According to the complaint, plaintiffs say Eightfold is “collecting personal data such as social media profiles, location data, internet and device activity, cookies and other tracking, to create a profile about the candidate’s behavior, attitudes, intelligence, aptitudes...
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