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| In August 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reached a settlement with iTutorGroup Inc. and its affiliates over alleged age discrimination in the company's hiring practices. The EEOC claimed that iTutorGroup, an online English-language tutoring company, programmed its application software to automatically reject female applicants over the age of 55 and male applicants over the age of 60.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/how-much-does-the-eeoc-and-itutorgroup-3801678/|title=How Much Does the EEOC and iTutorGroup Settlement Cost?|website=JD Supra|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/eeoc-settles-first-of-its-kind-ai-bias-lawsuit-for-365-000|title=EEOC Settles First-of-its-Kind AI Bias Lawsuit for $365,000|work=Bloomberg Law|date=August 2023|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
| | <!-- AILawWiki case sidebar v1 --> |
| | <div class="ailaw-case-layout" style="display:flex;flex-direction:row-reverse;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:1.5em;align-items:flex-start;"> |
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| == Background == | | {| class="wikitable ailaw-case-info" style="width:100%;margin:0;" |
| | |+ style="font-size:125%;font-weight:bold;padding:0.5em;" | Case Information |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Case name |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | EEOC v. iTutorGroup, Inc. et al.<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554">[https://clearinghouse-umich-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/doc/160671.pdf Court filing / case record, reviewed September 7, 2026]</ref> |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Court |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Docket |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | 1:22-cv-02565-PKC-PK<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Filed |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | May 5, 2022<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Judge(s) |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | Pamela K. Chen<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Plaintiff / agency |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Defendants |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | iTutorGroup, Inc.; Tutor Group Limited; Shanghai Ping’an Intelligent Education Technology Co., Ltd.<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Case type |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | Civil employment-discrimination enforcement action<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Claims / issues |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | Age Discrimination in Employment Act; alleged automated rejection of older tutoring applicants<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| | ! scope="row" style="width:30%;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" | Status |
| | | style="vertical-align:top;overflow-wrap:anywhere;" | September 8, 2023: consent decree entered following the announced $365,000 settlement.<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| The EEOC filed a lawsuit against iTutorGroup in May 2022, alleging that the company violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) by using discriminatory software in its hiring process. According to the complaint, iTutorGroup failed to hire over 200 qualified tutor applicants aged 55 and older between late March and early April 2020 due to their age.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/how-much-does-the-eeoc-and-itutorgroup-3801678/|title=How Much Does the EEOC and iTutorGroup Settlement Cost?|website=JD Supra|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/blogs/ag-data-dive/eeoc-settles-over-recruiting-software-in-possible-first-ever-ai-related-case|title=EEOC Settles Over Recruiting Software in Possible First-Ever AI-Related Case|website=Akin Gump|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
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| | <div class="ailaw-case-article" style="flex:1 1 28em;min-width:0;overflow-wrap:anywhere;"> |
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| The discriminatory impact was discovered when a rejected applicant reapplied using a more recent birthdate on an otherwise identical application and was subsequently offered an interview.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/how-much-does-the-eeoc-and-itutorgroup-3801678/|title=How Much Does the EEOC and iTutorGroup Settlement Cost?|website=JD Supra|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/eeoc-settles-first-of-its-kind-ai-bias-lawsuit-for-365-000|title=EEOC Settles First-of-its-Kind AI Bias Lawsuit for $365,000|work=Bloomberg Law|date=August 2023|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
| | '''EEOC v. iTutorGroup, Inc. et al.''' is a civil employment-discrimination enforcement action in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| == Settlement Terms == | | == Claims and issues == |
| | Age Discrimination in Employment Act; alleged automated rejection of older tutoring applicants.<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| As part of the settlement, iTutorGroup agreed to pay $365,000 to the group of rejected applicants age 40 and over.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/how-much-does-the-eeoc-and-itutorgroup-3801678/|title=How Much Does the EEOC and iTutorGroup Settlement Cost?|website=JD Supra|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/blogs/ag-data-dive/eeoc-settles-over-recruiting-software-in-possible-first-ever-ai-related-case|title=EEOC Settles Over Recruiting Software in Possible First-Ever AI-Related Case|website=Akin Gump|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/eeoc-settles-first-of-its-kind-ai-bias-lawsuit-for-365-000|title=EEOC Settles First-of-its-Kind AI Bias Lawsuit for $365,000|work=Bloomberg Law|date=August 2023|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> The company is also required to:
| | == Procedural history == |
| - Adopt anti-discrimination policies<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/how-much-does-the-eeoc-and-itutorgroup-3801678/|title=How Much Does the EEOC and iTutorGroup Settlement Cost?|website=JD Supra|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/eeoc-settles-first-of-its-kind-ai-bias-lawsuit-for-365-000|title=EEOC Settles First-of-its-Kind AI Bias Lawsuit for $365,000|work=Bloomberg Law|date=August 2023|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
| | September 8, 2023: consent decree entered following the announced $365,000 settlement.<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
| - Conduct anti-discrimination trainings<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/how-much-does-the-eeoc-and-itutorgroup-3801678/|title=How Much Does the EEOC and iTutorGroup Settlement Cost?|website=JD Supra|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/eeoc-settles-first-of-its-kind-ai-bias-lawsuit-for-365-000|title=EEOC Settles First-of-its-Kind AI Bias Lawsuit for $365,000|work=Bloomberg Law|date=August 2023|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
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| - Allow the rejected applicants to reapply<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/how-much-does-the-eeoc-and-itutorgroup-3801678/|title=How Much Does the EEOC and iTutorGroup Settlement Cost?|website=JD Supra|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/eeoc-settles-first-of-its-kind-ai-bias-lawsuit-for-365-000|title=EEOC Settles First-of-its-Kind AI Bias Lawsuit for $365,000|work=Bloomberg Law|date=August 2023|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
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| - Report to the EEOC on the outcomes of the reapplications<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/blogs/ag-data-dive/eeoc-settles-over-recruiting-software-in-possible-first-ever-ai-related-case|title=EEOC Settles Over Recruiting Software in Possible First-Ever AI-Related Case|website=Akin Gump|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
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| The consent decree will remain in effect for five years from its effective date or three years from the date iTutorGroup resumes soliciting or receiving tutor applications, whichever is later.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/eeoc-settles-first-of-its-kind-ai-bias-lawsuit-for-365-000|title=EEOC Settles First-of-its-Kind AI Bias Lawsuit for $365,000|work=Bloomberg Law|date=August 2023|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> | | The EEOC alleged that automated applicant screening rejected older tutoring applicants because of age. The defendants denied wrongdoing in the consent decree.<ref name="case-record-70380699b8108554" /> |
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| == Significance ==
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| The iTutorGroup settlement is considered the first AI discrimination lawsuit settled by the EEOC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/blogs/ag-data-dive/eeoc-settles-over-recruiting-software-in-possible-first-ever-ai-related-case|title=EEOC Settles Over Recruiting Software in Possible First-Ever AI-Related Case|website=Akin Gump|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> It highlights the agency's focus on ensuring that employers' use of AI and automated systems in hiring complies with federal anti-discrimination laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/how-much-does-the-eeoc-and-itutorgroup-3801678/|title=How Much Does the EEOC and iTutorGroup Settlement Cost?|website=JD Supra|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/blogs/ag-data-dive/eeoc-settles-over-recruiting-software-in-possible-first-ever-ai-related-case|title=EEOC Settles Over Recruiting Software in Possible First-Ever AI-Related Case|website=Akin Gump|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> The case also demonstrates the EEOC's commitment to addressing age discrimination in employment, even when it involves independent contractors, who are typically not protected under the ADEA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/blogs/ag-data-dive/eeoc-settles-over-recruiting-software-in-possible-first-ever-ai-related-case|title=EEOC Settles Over Recruiting Software in Possible First-Ever AI-Related Case|website=Akin Gump|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
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| == References == | | == References == |
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| [[Category:Employment]] | | [[Category:Employment]] |
| [[Category:Federal Regulation]] | | [[Category:Federal Regulation]] |
