ANALYSIS: AI in Workplace to Test Disparate Impact Theory

Despite Trump administration efforts to limit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s handling of disparate impact claims, rising alarm about AI-driven employment bias will bring the issue of disparate impact front and center in 2026, forcing courts to step in and grapple with how the long-standing legal doctrine applies to new AI base HR technologies.

These courts will face the challenge of deciding if employers can be held liable for implementing AI tools that, while appearing unbiased in their essence, inadvertently cause a disproportionate and adverse impact on protected groups, even in the absence of intentional discrimination.

Many high-profile lawsuits are ...