{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0544","record_version":1,"title":"IBM accused of age discrimination in AI-driven job screening software","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":42.3,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":7.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":0.0,"completeness":2.56,"unhedged_language":4.5},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-01","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: Austin American-Statesman · subject to change","original_document":null,"reports_total":1,"reports_independent":1,"reports_derivative":0,"developing":false,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-01","history":[{"date":"2026-11-01","from_level":null,"to_level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: Austin American-Statesman · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"1c4ae5e7a1a27f2d8e6625677dcf97a924f073bc1229555d09d1180f1d5f4613"},"system":{"model_name":null,"model_version":null,"developer":"unknown","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"unknown","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"unknown","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":null,"integration_type":null,"intended_use":"HR screening of job candidates","safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":null,"date_disclosed":"2026-05-29","incident_class":"bias_disparate_impact","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":null,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"IBM's HR screening software was alleged in a federal lawsuit to have been programmed to disadvantage older candidates. The plaintiff, Daniel Swanson, a former IBM manager of 24 years who was 48, says he was told his job had been eliminated in September 2024 and later received an automated rejection letter written by AI after applying for two management positions. He says this, together with other conversations, shows he was fired because of his age and that the AI was programmed to prioritise so-called 'Early Professional Hires'. IBM denies the allegations and says it does not use AI to automatically screen out candidates. The complaint does not include any technical or forensic review of the company's AI tools. The suit alleges discrimination under federal and Texas law and seeks reinstatement, back pay and additional compensation.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":null,"failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":null,"adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"minor","severity_because":"minor: the allegation concerns one complainant and his two applications, and the sources name no other affected party","harm_class":[],"affected_description":null,"protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://www.statesman.com/business/article/ibm-age-discrimination-ai-hiring-lawsuit-22279247.php","publisher":"Austin American-Statesman","date":"2026-05-29","type":"press","title":"Did IBM embed age discrimination in its AI-driven job screening software? - Austin American-Statesman","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report","independence":"independent"}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.intended_use":"C","context.country":"C","event.incident_class":"D","impact.severity":"D","impact.severity_because":"D","event.summary":"C","system.autonomy_level":"D","system.deployment_context":"D","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"D","system.developer":"D","event.date_disclosed":"D","context.denominator_available":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.intended_use":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"“IBM’s ageist scheme had been programmed into its HR screening software,” Daniel Swanson says in the suit he filed in U.S. District Court."}],"context.country":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"“IBM’s ageist scheme had been programmed into its HR screening software,” Daniel Swanson says in the suit he filed in U.S. District Court."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"“IBM’s ageist scheme had been programmed into its HR screening software,” Daniel Swanson says in the suit he filed in U.S. District Court."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"IBM was hiring at the same time, and Swanson applied for two management positions that fit his skills."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"IBM was hiring at the same time, and Swanson applied for two management positions that fit his skills."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"“IBM’s ageist scheme had been programmed into its HR screening software,” Daniel Swanson says in the suit he filed in U.S. District Court."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"He received what the complaint called an automated rejection letter written by AI."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The company does not use AI to automatically screen out candidates and any allegation to the contrary is entirely baseless."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Despite claims that IBM used “artificial intelligence and scoring algorithms” against older workers, Swanson's complaint does not include any technical or forensic review of the company's AI tools."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The lawsuit alleges discrimination under both federal and Texas law."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"All facts are allegations in a complaint by Daniel Swanson and are denied by IBM; no finding has been made. No AI system name, version, developer, model, or autonomy level is stated, so those fields are omitted. The sources do not state when the AI rejection letter was sent, so no date_occurred is set. The article date (2026-05-29) is used as date_disclosed on the judgement that press coverage marks public disclosure; the quote given is the lawsuit sentence, not the date itself. The complaint is not an agent incident as described, so agent_involved and failure_class are omitted. No root cause, trigger, responsible party, controls, or remediation are stated. Severity minor is a judgement based on one complainant. The EEOC outcome, the other cases named in the article, and CVS, iTutorGroup and Workday matters are separate incidents and are excluded. Incident class bias_disparate_impact is a judgement from the age-discrimination allegation. [case created by the backfill: read by claude-haiku-5-5, backfill-2026-11-01.2, 2026-11-01; not yet reviewed] [2026-11-01: evidence level set: Preliminary (1 report: Austin American-Statesman · subject to change)]"},"context":{"industry":null,"org_size_band":null,"country":"US","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null},"analysis":{"sections":{"timeline":[{"text":"Swanson received an email saying his job had been eliminated.","quote":"In September 2024, he got an email saying his job had been eliminated.","source_index":0,"when":"September 2024"},{"text":"Swanson applied for two management positions while IBM was hiring.","quote":"IBM was hiring at the same time, and Swanson applied for two management positions that fit his skills.","source_index":0,"when":null},{"text":"Swanson received an automated rejection letter written by AI.","quote":"He received what the complaint called an automated rejection letter written by AI.","source_index":0,"when":null},{"text":"Swanson complained to the EEOC.","quote":"He also complained to the EEOC.","source_index":0,"when":null},{"text":"Swanson filed a federal court complaint alleging discrimination under federal and Texas law.","quote":"The lawsuit alleges discrimination under both federal and Texas law.","source_index":0,"when":null}]},"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.statesman.com/business/article/ibm-age-discrimination-ai-hiring-lawsuit-22279247.php"]}}