AI-generated image for representation purpose
Job Seekers Sue Eightfold Over AI Hiring Practices
Job seekers have initiated a lawsuit against Eightfold, an artificial intelligence (AI) hiring tool utilized by major companies like Microsoft and PayPal. The plaintiffs allege that Eightfold generates undisclosed reports that significantly affect hiring decisions, while denying candidates access to this information. According to a report from Fortune, the lawsuit contends that Eightfold’s operations may infringe upon US consumer protection laws by preventing applicants from viewing, reviewing, or correcting the data used in their evaluations. Should the court accept this argument, it could reshape the operational standards for AI-based hiring systems, particularly regarding transparency towards job seekers.
Eightfold’s system operates in the background of job applications and gathers personal information to help employers screen candidates, according to the lawsuit. Plaintiffs argue that candidates are not told what data is collected, how it is used, or how it affects hiring decisions. A company spokesperson said the tool only uses information that candidates choose to share or data provided by employer clients, per Fortune report. The company said it does not scrape social media or collect hidden data and described the allegations as without merit.
As per the report, the case has been filed as a class-action lawsuit by job applicants who say their applications were rejected without explanation after being processed by Eightfold’s software. The lawsuit claims Eightfold violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, along with a similar consumer protection law in California. These laws require companies that create reports affecting people’s opportunities, such as employment, to share that information with individuals and allow them to correct errors. The complaint alleges that this includes data such as online activity, location information, and other digital signals. What is not disputed is that Eightfold uses AI to generate a score between zero and five that measures how closely a candidate matches a job role. Employers then use this score as part of their hiring process. Eightfold has denied the claims made in the lawsuit.