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A Law Firm Gives Advice Regarding Using AI For Employment

A class action lawsuit is causing legislators and employers to consider what they can do to make AI safe and fair when it’s used for employment purposes.

About The Lawsuit

There is a class action lawsuit against a large recruiting platform that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help them provide details about job applicants to employers. It alleges the company provided data that the organizations they serve may not legally review or consider when making hiring and related decisions.

According to the lawsuit, this employer is alleged to have:

• Collected data from third-party sources.
• Gathered information from more than a billion data points.
• Used AI to make inferences about their candidates “preferences, characteristics, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.”
• Developed assessments of job applicants and provided this information to employers along with a grade, on a scale of 0-5, of how likely they believed each person was to succeed in a sought-after position.

AI Policies

Backgrounds Online does not offer legal guidance or advice of any kind. We do, however, dig through the latest news to help provide educational resources. AI is becoming an increasingly hot topic, and we’ve aggregated some suggestions regarding how employers might want to proceed when using AI.

A few best practices include:

• Employers should have a solid understanding of what any AI program they might use actually does. This includes reviewing it to help ensure the AI is not likely to include unwarranted biases.
• Hiring managers should understand where the data they review originates. Not every record is publicly available.
• Organizations everywhere should keep up with laws that affect them wherever they operate.
• This is also a good time for employers to create written policies regarding their use of AI, if they don’t already have them.

New Legislation

We are starting to see legislation that governs how employers may use AI for employment purposes. These laws are creating specific rules that organizations must follow if they use AI to help them make decisions. If possible, best practice is often to consult with legal counsel to help ensure you are compliant with applicable laws.

Running Background Checks

Every employer must follow federal, state and local laws that cover the hiring process. Organizations must have a specific purpose to run background checks, such as when hiring and promoting. Before screening anyone, every employer must have a signed disclosure and authorization.

A great way to protect your business is to work with a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) which is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). CRAs must go through an intensive third-party audit and demonstrate that they follow reasonable procedures to only provide current, reportable records before they may become accredited.

If you represent an organization that needs employment background checks, please contact us. Our experienced, professional team can help you customize screening packages that meet your particular needs and comply with applicable. Backgrounds Online is an accredited CRA with more than 25 years of experience as a leader in the screening industry. Based in California, we are available to assist you Monday through Friday from 5am to 6pm PT.