Sirius XM Wins Dismissal of AI Hiring Bias Lawsuit

An applicant who alleged Sirius XM’s hiring software repeatedly screened him out because he’s Black recently had his complaint dismissed – for now.

A federal judge in Michigan dismissed the complaint without prejudice on Sept. 30, 2026, finding that the applicant hadn’t alleged enough facts to state a plausible discrimination claim.

Applicant Alleges AI Hiring Bias Based on Race

Arshon Harper, a Black IT professional from Detroit, said he applied for about 150 jobs at Sirius XM between November 2023 and November 2024. All but one application was rejected before the interview stage. He landed one 30-minute interview and was rejected afterward.

He claimed Sirius XM used AI features in its iCIMS applicant tracking system that scored candidates using stand-ins for race, such as schools attended, work history and ZIP codes. He sued under Title VII and Section 1981 and asked to proceed as a class action.

Sirius XM argued that it doesn’t use AI in hiring. The court set that question aside and assumed, for purposes of the ruling, that it did.

Why the Court Dismissed the Case

The judge found Harper failed to state valid claims on both theories of workplace discrimination:

• Intentional discrimination. Harper alleged no facts suggesting race motivated the rejections, such as losing the job he interviewed for to a non-Black candidate or similarly qualified applicants of other races being treated better.
• Disparate impact. Harper didn’t allege facts showing that the challenged hiring practices disproportionately disadvantaged Black applicants. He supplied no group-level statistics, comparison group or examples of other applicants with similar experiences.

The judge wasn’t swayed by Harper’s argument that his repeated rejections and Sirius XM’s alleged ability to collect demographic data were enough to support his claims.

In the court’s words, “data collection is not the same thing as data discrimination.” The judge noted that collecting such data can help employers ensure their hiring practices don’t disadvantage protected groups.

The court granted Sirius XM’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and dismissed Harper’s complaint without prejudice.

More info: Harper v. Sirius XM Radio, LLC