In December 2020, an Italian court ruled that an algorithm used by Deliveroo, a popular app-based bicycle food delivery company, resulted in discriminatory employee management. The case – brought by Italian labor group Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL) – centered on the app’s algorithm to assign delivery workers a “reliability rating.” The rating was based in part on how much notice the employees gave before cancelling shifts and was used to determine preference order in future shift scheduling. The Tribunale Ordinario di Bologna decided that because the employees were not allowed to give justification for cancellations, Deliveroo was illegally discrimination against those with legitimate reasons for rescheduling.

In December 2020, an Italian court ruled that Deliveroo’s employee ‘reliability’ algorithm illegally discriminated against workers with legitimate reasons for cancelling shifts.

Moderate

Other:Those with emegencies, illness, unexpected circumstances

Harm to civil liberties

Deliveroo's machine learning algorithm used to calculate employees' 'reliability' rating.

Deliveroo

Accommodation and food service activities

Cognition, Action

machine learning

data analytics, optimization, decision making

Italy

Deliveroo, Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, Tribunale Ordinario di Bologna

Deliveroo

11/2020

12/2020

Harm caused

Accident

No

Italian employee fairness law

employee activity history, shift schedules