{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0566","record_version":1,"title":"Algorithm allegedly blocked IBM veteran's rehire at age 48","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":43.1,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":7.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":0.0,"completeness":2.88,"unhedged_language":5.0},"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: HRD (Human Resources Director) · 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: HRD (Human Resources Director) · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"c3fad2e7f0680fc3f7f96bcab867eb26832285e1af4db69ee208d81b1358a88c"},"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":null,"safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":null,"date_disclosed":"2026-05-25","incident_class":"bias_disparate_impact","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":null,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"A former IBM Software Development Manager, Daniel Swanson, says he was terminated in September 2024 as part of a Resource Action after a 24-year career. He applied in February 2025 for an open Software Product Manager role in Austin and received an automatic rejection that the filing says appeared to be generated by AI screening software. Swanson alleges the screening software carried an ageist scheme and blacklisted him from rehire. He filed suit on May 23, 2026 under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act. The allegations have not been tested in court, IBM has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on the claims.","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,"primary_risk":"RK16"},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"minor","severity_because":"Minor test: the alleged harm is contained to one applicant and the filing states no count of affected third parties; the claims are untested.","harm_class":["discriminatory"],"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.hcamag.com/us/news/general/24-year-ibm-veteran-sues-says-algorithm-blocked-his-rehire-at-48/576441","publisher":"Human Resources Director","date":"2026-05-25","type":"press","title":"24-year IBM veteran sues, says algorithm blocked his rehire at 48 | Human Resources Director - Human Resources Director","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report","independence":"independent"}],"per_field_confidence":{"event.incident_class":"C","context.country":"C","impact.harm_class":"C","impact.severity":"D","impact.severity_because":"D","event.primary_risk":"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":{"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Swanson alleges IBM's \"ageist scheme had been programed into its HR screening software,\" effectively blacklisting him from rehire."}],"context.country":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"That, in essence, is the story Daniel Swanson tells in a lawsuit filed May 23, 2026 in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas (Swanson v. International Business Machines Corporation, No. 1:26-cv-01382)."}],"impact.harm_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Swanson alleges IBM's \"ageist scheme had been programed into its HR screening software,\" effectively blacklisting him from rehire."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The allegations have not been tested in court."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The allegations have not been tested in court."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Swanson, a former Software Development Manager based in Austin, claims IBM terminated him on September 17, 2024 as part of what the company labeled a \"Resource Action,\" and that the move was the latest chapter in a long-running effort to clear out older workers in favor of younger hires the company calls \"Early Professional Hires,\" or EPHs."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"After his termination, he applied on February 20, 2025 for an open Software Product Manager role in Austin — essentially, he says, the same kind of work he had been doing successfully for years."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Two days later, he received an automatic rejection that, according to the filing, \"appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence screening software.\""},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Swanson alleges IBM's \"ageist scheme had been programed into its HR screening software,\" effectively blacklisting him from rehire."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Swanson is seeking back pay, liquidated damages, reinstatement or front pay, and a jury trial under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The allegations have not been tested in court."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"IBM has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on the claims."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"Single press report on an unadjudicated lawsuit; all claims are allegations. No model name, version, vendor or developer of the screening software is stated. No autonomy level, deployment context, lifecycle stage, guardrails or controls are stated, so none are recorded. The rejection date is stated only as two days after February 20, 2025, so no date_occurred is given. The filing date is used as date_disclosed, a judgement. Incident class bias_disparate_impact and severity minor are my judgements from the allegations. No damages amounts, counts of affected applicants, root cause, trigger or detection method are stated. The termination and colleague layoffs are not recorded as incident events because they are not tied to the screening system. No remediation is reported. [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: HRD (Human Resources Director) · 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},"narrative":{"steps":[{"step":"went_wrong","text":"Swanson alleges the screening software carried an ageist scheme that blacklisted him from rehire.","quote":"Swanson alleges IBM's \"ageist scheme had been programed into its HR screening software,\" effectively blacklisting him from rehire.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"reached","text":"He received an automatic rejection two days after applying.","quote":"Two days later, he received an automatic rejection that, according to the filing, \"appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence screening software.\"","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"caught","text":"Swanson raised the matter in a lawsuit filed May 23, 2026.","quote":"That, in essence, is the story Daniel Swanson tells in a lawsuit filed May 23, 2026 in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas (Swanson v. International Business Machines Corporation, No. 1:26-cv-01382).","source_index":0,"grade":"C"}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.hcamag.com/us/news/general/24-year-ibm-veteran-sues-says-algorithm-blocked-his-rehire-at-48/576441"]},"analysis":{"sections":{"timeline":[{"text":"Swanson applied for an open Software Product Manager role in Austin.","quote":"After his termination, he applied on February 20, 2025 for an open Software Product Manager role in Austin — essentially, he says, the same kind of work he had been doing successfully for years.","source_index":0,"when":"2025-02-20"},{"text":"Swanson received an automatic rejection two days after applying.","quote":"Two days later, he received an automatic rejection that, according to the filing, \"appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence screening software.\"","source_index":0,"when":null},{"text":"Swanson filed a lawsuit against IBM.","quote":"That, in essence, is the story Daniel Swanson tells in a lawsuit filed May 23, 2026 in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas (Swanson v. International Business Machines Corporation, No. 1:26-cv-01382).","source_index":0,"when":"2026-05-23"}]},"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.hcamag.com/us/news/general/24-year-ibm-veteran-sues-says-algorithm-blocked-his-rehire-at-48/576441"]}}