Artificial Intelligence, Resumes, and Employment Discrimination

It may not have been one of the bits that news commentators chose to froth at the mouth about, but people who read the original Freakonomics book will tell you that the part about the racial connotations of personal names was one of the most interesting and memorable parts of the book.  It told of a study where researchers prepared two resumes that were identical except for the names of the fictitious applicants and sent them to prospective employers.  One bore a name that was much more common among White men in their 20s and 30s than in other demographic groups, and the other bore a name much more common among Black men of the same age.  Significantly more employers requested an interview with the candidate they assumed was White.  The study was about implicit bias, not about employment discrimination, but given the technological advances that have appeared since the book was published, it is hard not to think about that chapter of Freakonomics when artificial intelligence bots keep rejecting your resume before a human with implicit bias even gets a chance to read it.  California lawmakers are now grappling with the issue of how to prevent artificial intelligence from discriminating against job applicants based on protected characteristics.  If you have been treated unfairly in your job search by algorithms and the humans who created them, contact a Los Angeles discrimination and harassment lawyer.

When You Don’t Get a Job Interview Because Racist Bots Summarily Rejected Your Resume

California regulators are in the process of setting rules about “automated decision systems.”  These computer programs have a variety of practical applications, but one of the ways where they have attracted complaints from the public is when employers use them to screen resumes before human resources employees or job recruiters read them.  People who have filed complaints about these matters claim that automated decision systems used by employers in the recruitment process have discriminated against job candidates based on protected characteristics such as national origin, pregnancy, and religion.  They have also received complaints about discrimination based on criminal history, although a history of certain criminal convictions may be a legally valid reason to refuse to hire an applicant.

The rules in their current form state that employers are responsible for discriminatory actions undertaken by software that they use, even if the employer simply subscribed to the software and did not invent it.  Employers must keep records of the decisions made by their automated decisions systems software, and they must retain these records for at least four years.  This way, job candidates who believe that the software’s reliance on protected characteristics as a factor in its decision may file a claim against the employer.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination and retaliation lawyer can help you if you did not get hired because an employer used resume sorting software that was programmed to discriminate.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Redondo Beach, California, to discuss your situation or call (424) 284-2401.

Source:

laist.com/news/could-ai-reject-your-resume