A growing number of employers are relying on artificial intelligence to help them find employees. This new technology could have some advantages, but it also presents some potential problems. One is the possibility of unlawful discrimination.
In California, there is a movement to regulate employers using AI as they are assessing whether to hire an applicant.
Regulations would try to prevent discrimination through AI
State, local and federal laws protect workers from discrimination based on factors such as race, age, national origin, gender or sexual orientation, disability and religion. These types of discrimination still happen all too often, but the law knows more or less how to deal with these issues when humans are doing the discrimination. It’s less clear how the law should respond when the discrimination is practiced by software.
Employers are increasingly relying on AI-assisted software to make it easier for them to make hiring decisions. In theory, software shouldn’t carry human prejudices, but critics say the technology can lead to discriminatory outcomes in practice
For example, when programming AI-based hiring software, employers could put requirements in place that would automatically remove some potential workers from the equation. Even if the employers don’t intend to discriminate this way, the practice could ultimately lead to unlawful employment discrimination.
The California Civil Rights Department is working on new rules that could cover how AI screens an applicant’s resume and more. For example, the rules may require that hiring software cannot consider national origin or religion when sorting job applicants.
Employees should know how to recognize discrimination
When there is a question about workplace discrimination of any kind, it is important to know the regulations and the facts. Having advice on how to proceed is imperative.