#FOODFORTHOUGHT: What the US Recruiting Lawsuits really mean

8. Februar 20268. Februar 2026 Gero Hesse 3 Views 0 Comment

**My 5 Cents: What the Workday & Eightfold Lawsuits Really Mean**

Lately, many people in HR have been watching the U.S. class action lawsuits against Workday and Eightfold with growing concern. Some headlines already suggest the “end of AI in recruiting”. Let me be very clear upfront:
👉 I don’t believe these cases will lead to a general ban on AI in recruiting in the U.S.
👉 And even more important: Most of what is being criticized there is already restricted or regulated in Germany and the EU.

So why should we care at all?

1️⃣ This is not anti-AI – it’s anti–black box

These lawsuits are not about using AI. They are about opaque scoring, poor transparency and weak governance. In Germany, fully automated, non-explainable applicant decisions are already legally problematic under GDPR, AGG and the upcoming EU AI Act. The message is simple: AI is fine. Black boxes are not.

2️⃣ The real shift: vendors are now in the spotlight

What is new: software vendors themselves are being sued, not just employers. That changes everything, since HR-Tech players will face more scrutiny and transparency and trust in vendors will become deal-breakers. For German companies, this is less about lawsuits – and more about vendor risk and credibility.

3️⃣ “We don’t use AI like that” – are you sure?

I often hear: “We use Workday / Eightfold, but we don’t use AI in recruiting.” In reality, many organizations don’t fully know, which modules are active, whether rankings or prioritizations are applied and how human oversight is documented. My view: If you can’t clearly explain your process to a candidate, you already have a problem.

4️⃣ Candidate trust is the real battlefield

Even without legal risk, there is a reputation risk. Candidates increasingly want to know: if an algorithm is ranking them or who is actually deciding. Silence will soon hurt employer brands more than honest transparency.

5️⃣ Less hype, more governance

No panic. No AI-bashing. But also no complacency. German companies should:

map where AI is used – and where not
document human decision points
openly communicate with candidates
challenge vendors on explainability

In some cases, clearly stating where you don’t use AI may even build trust.

And now my most important message:

We should stop acting as if only US companies provide trustworthy recruiting technology. There are excellent ATS providers built in Germany and Europe, fulfilling our standards, our compliance requirements, and our understanding of data protection and transparency. For example: beesite, coveto or d.vinci. Just saying. If we truly believe in responsible AI and fair recruiting, then we should also start supporting and prioritizing Europan AI products and HR-Tech ecosystems – instead of automatically defaulting to players from markets with completely different legal and cultural frameworks.