{"id":10105,"date":"2026-03-29T05:22:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T05:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/eeoc-settles-first-ai-discrimination-lawsuit\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T05:22:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T05:22:43","slug":"eeoc-settles-first-ai-discrimination-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/eeoc-settles-first-ai-discrimination-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"EEOC Settles First AI-Discrimination Lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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On August 9, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (\u201cEEOC\u201d) announced the settlement<\/a> of the agency\u2019s first lawsuit involving the alleged discriminatory use of artificial intelligence (\u201cAI\u201d) in the workplace. In the lawsuit<\/a>, EEOC<\/i> v. iTutorGroup, Inc<\/i>., the EEOC alleged that iTutorGroup\u2019s hiring software automatically rejected older job applicants in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (\u201cADEA\u201d). This settlement comes amongst the EEOC\u2019s stated intent to enforce anti-discrimination laws in connection with the use of AI in workplace decisions, and is likely the first of many more litigations and settlements in this area.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Background<\/p>\n

EEOC\u2019s Continued Focus on AI<\/u>. AI offers companies many opportunities to streamline or refine processes, and the hiring process is no exception. Companies may choose, for example, to employ software to screen resumes or job applications. There is a risk, however, that such programs may\u00a0 inadvertently discriminate against certain protected classes. In response to the significant increase in the use of AI in hiring, the EEOC has emphasized its continued focus on AI and the need for employers to comply with existing anti-discrimination laws in connection with the use of AI products for workplace decisions. As part of that effort, in October 2021, the EEOC commenced<\/a> an Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Fairness Initiative. The EEOC also recently issued specific AI guidance, including (a) May 2022 AI guidance concerning disability discrimination; and (b) May 2023 guidance entitled \u201cAssessing Adverse Impact in Software, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence Used in Employment Selection Procedures Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.\u201d In January 2023, the EEOC held a public hearing<\/a> to examine the benefits and challenges to the use of AI in employment decisions. On April 25, 2023, Charlotte A. Burrows, Chair of the EEOC, joined officials from the DOJ, CFPB, and FTC to release a joint statement emphasizing the agencies\u2019 pledge \u201cto vigorously use [their] collective authorities to protect individuals\u2019 rights regardless of whether legal violations occur through traditional means or advanced technologies.\u201d And earlier this month, EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows indicated<\/a> that AI is a \u201cnew civil rights frontier\u201d that might threaten \u201cbasic values and principles\u201d and carry a risk of discrimination in employment or hiring decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The EEOC Litigation<\/u>. On May 5, 2022<\/a>, the EEOC filed a complaint against iTutorGroup, an organization that hires remote English tutors for students in China, in the Eastern District of New York. The EEOC alleged that the company violated the ADEA by implementing a software hiring program that \u201cintentionally discriminated against older applicants because of their age\u201d by \u201cautomatically reject[ing] female applicants age 55 or older and male applicants age 60 or older,\u201d effectively screening out over 200 applicants. The purported discriminatory software was discovered when an applicant submitted two applications identical in all but birth date. According to the EEOC, the applicant used one application with their real date of birth and filed a second application with a more recent date of birth. The candidate allegedly received an interview only when using the more recent date of birth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under the terms of the settlement<\/a>, iTutorGroup agreed to pay $365,000 to a group of applicants whose applications had been rejected because of their age. Claimants receiving payment pursuant to the settlement will be apportioned compensatory damages and back pay. In the settlement, the company did not admit to any wrongdoing, but agreed to submit to the EEOC \u201cproposed anti-discrimination and complaint procedures applicable to the screening, hiring, and supervision\u201d of candidates and employees.<\/p>\n

Implications<\/p>\n

Given the significant increase in the use of AI in the workplace by employers, the EEOC is expected to continue to focus on the use of AI and bring more litigation in this area. The recent settlement is an important reminder for employers to proactively monitor the developing law and guidance in this area, including at the state and local level. As but one example, New York City\u2019s legislation<\/a> (Local Law 144) recently became effective and prohibits employers from using an automated decision tool in certain employment decisions unless the employer first ensures that the tool has been audited for bias within the preceding year.<\/p>\n

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On August 9, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (\u201cEEOC\u201d) announced the settlement of the agency\u2019s first lawsuit involving the alleged discriminatory use of artificial intelligence (\u201cAI\u201d) in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7619,1118,303,322],"class_list":["post-10105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lawyers","tag-aidiscrimination","tag-eeoc","tag-lawsuit","tag-settles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}