Episode Details

Two court rulings in March 2026 just changed the legal math for every company using AI to screen job candidates. Mobley v. Workday — a case that's been working through federal court since 2023 — cleared its last procedural hurdles and is now an active, expanding class action covering race, age, and disability discrimination. Here's the twist most HR leaders haven't fully absorbed: under what's called "agent theory," the court found that AI hiring vendors can be treated as agents of the employers they serve. That creates dual liability. It's not just Workday on the hook — it's the 10,000-plus companies using their AI screening tools, too. And the Trump administration pulling back on federal disparate-impact enforcement? That doesn't help you here. Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA all have private rights of action. Plaintiffs' lawyers — not regulators — are now the enforcement mechanism. Mobley is proof of exactly that. In this episode, we break down what agent theory actually means for your hiring stack, why outsourcing the screening decision doesn't outsource the liability, and what HR teams need to do right now — audit your tools, document your human oversight, and make sure your vendor contracts actually protect you.