(Un)Fairness in the Digital Labour Market: A Socio-Legal and Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Modern instances of discrimination in the digital labour market exhibit a sophisticated and elusive form, and they can be highly impactful in terms of the scale, scope and volume. Such discrimination impinges on equality paradigms, undermine users’ trust in technology and results in legal uncertainty for workers, providers and adopters alike. In this chapter, we use two case studies to illustrate our argument. The first involves using AI to manage work. This entails a set of practices whereby decisions are partly or fully delegated to automated systems, which is known as ‘algorithmic management’ (AM). A common example of this is an AI program being used to screen, assess and select job candidates and prospective employees. The second case study involves work that is performed via information communication technology (ICT), mainly in the case of remote work or work from home. In this case, ICT allows the worker to distance herself from the workplace and situates her in private surroundings. In this chapter, we examine the solutions that exist to overcome these difficulties in the United States and Europe, combining legislation meant to enshrine equality, unleash opportunities and regulate the use of AI and remote work arrangements. Thereafter, we sketch a paradigm for dealing with discriminatory outcomes in the digitalised workplace, geared towards proposals to promote fairness by using data protection and involving workers’ representatives.

Keywords: discrimination, equality, remote work, algorithmic management, European Union, artificial intelligence, fairness, labour market