Are AI Hiring Tools Keeping You from Getting a Job?

More and more companies are using AI tools to automate routine, administrative tasks like scanning resumes and scheduling interviews. Often, that’s because they’re drowning in an unprecedented number of resumes. 1 2

According to data from BambooHR, there has been a sharp increase in the average number of applicants per job posting in recent years. It jumped from 46 applicants in 2021 to 95 in 2025.

One reason for this is that job seekers can now quickly generate tailored resumes with AI, allowing them to easily apply to dozens or hundreds of positions. 1

The recent layoffs in the tech sector have also contributed to the issue by increasing the number of qualified candidates looking for work. (Google alone received over 3 million applications in 2024—a million more than it did a decade before.) 3 4 5

Some experts believe that AI can make the hiring landscape fairer because it can objectively filter candidates based on their skills, experience, and achievements without being swayed by potential causes of human bias. 2

However, the number of lawsuits accusing companies of AI-driven discrimination suggests the reality isn’t so utopian.

Embedded bias in AI systems

Critics have alleged that AI hiring systems may unintentionally discriminate against certain (often marginalized) workers because they were trained on historical hiring decisions. This means they may have picked up companies’ past biases against those groups. 2

Moreover, there’s often no way to know why an AI made a given decision due to its “black box” nature. Because most sophisticated AIs are trained rather than manually programmed, even their operators can have trouble figuring out what’s going on under the hood. 2

This makes it difficult to hold AI systems accountable for questionable hiring decisions.

Who is legally responsible for AI-driven discrimination in hiring?

At present, job seekers can sue both employers and AI vendors if they believe an AI hiring tool treated them unfairly (whether intentionally or not) because of a protected characteristic, such as their race or ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or genetic information. 6

That said, employers are usually the main parties that are held accountable for hiring decisions under federal anti-discrimination laws. These include: 7

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

Local laws that govern AI in hiring

The US doesn’t have any federal laws that directly regulate the use of AI in hiring, but some states and cities have stepped in with local mandates.

For example, New York City’s Local Law 144 became effective on July 5, 2023. It requires employers and agencies to conduct bias audits on automated employment decision tools (AEDTs), publish the results, and notify candidates when these tools are being used.

These local steps are meant to address the risk of AI-driven discrimination, but some scholars have argued there should be more comprehensive policies to mitigate discrimination in AI-aided hiring. 2

Several major companies have been accused of deploying illegally biased AI hiring systems, with a few having been involved in high-profile lawsuits over it.

Amazon’s gender-biased recruiting engine

In 2014, Amazon started using a new recruiting engine to vet candidates, but realized just a year later that the machine discriminated against women for technical roles.

The engine had been trained on a decade of Amazon’s hiring decisions, which favored men. As a result, it docked points from resumes that included keywords associated with women, such as “women’s chess club captain” or the names of all-women’s colleges. 8

Amazon reportedly adjusted the system to assess applications in a gender-neutral way, but couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t find new loopholes or form other biases. They ultimately discarded their AI hiring project in early 2017, according to an insider who spoke to Reuters. 8

iTutorGroup’s age discrimination settlement

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) settled its first lawsuit about AI bias in hiring with iTutorGroup (now known as Fullmind), an online tutoring platform, in 2023. 9

iTutorGroup’s recruitment software was accused of having been programmed to reject female applicants over 55 and male applicants over 60. It allegedly rejected over 200 qualified older US applicants in early 2020 because of their age. 9

One applicant who was rejected by the platform resubmitted an identical application, changing nothing except their birth date. The software then offered them an interview, sparking concerns about a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). 9

Although iTutorGroup denied any wrongdoing, it agreed to pay $365,000 to settle the case. 10 The court also ordered iTutorGroup to adopt anti-discrimination policies and conduct anti-discrimination training. 9

MAC Cosmetics and the HireVue facial analysis dispute

A UK-based make-up artist, Anthea Mairoudhiou, was put on furlough by her company, MAC Cosmetics, in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MAC Cosmetics then asked her to reapply for her role. 11

Mairoudhiou was assessed partially based on a video interview screening conducted by HireVue, an AI platform that evaluates applicants on their facial expressions and body language. Despite receiving full marks in her skills assessment, Mairoudhiou didn’t get her job back because the AI tool gave her a low score for her body language. 11

Mairoudhiou said that MAC Cosmetics didn’t offer a clear explanation for why the AI tool scored her body language poorly. She subsequently sued Estée Lauder, the parent company of MAC Cosmetics, and the two parties agreed to a settlement out of court. 11

HireVue removed its facial analysis function in early 2021 in response to widespread criticism. 12

Proving any sort of bias during the hiring process—whether it’s human or AI-driven—can be hard. However, it isn’t impossible.

The best way to tackle potential discrimination is to document everything: the job posting, your resume, any assessment reports or emails you get, and the application timeline. 14

The more concrete evidence you have, the stronger your case will be.

Before you take legal action for an AI’s unfair treatment, consider requesting a human review first. If you aren’t sure if the company used AI to assess your application or video interview, you can ask the HR manager directly.

It’s also important to stay informed about your local jurisdiction’s AI regulations so that you can exercise your rights.

If you need, you may be able to schedule a free consultation with a lawyer to evaluate your case.