Defending AI-Assisted Layoffs: The Algorithm Is Now the Evidence

Alex W. Karasik, Partner | Duane Morris LLP

Alex W. Karasik is a Partner at Duane Morris LLP, based in the firm’s Chicago office, where he defends businesses in high-stakes employment and privacy matters as a core member of the firm’s Class Action Defense Team. A recognized leader on the intersection of law and emerging technology, Alex chairs the firm’s global ELBI AI Task Force and serves on its AI Steering Committee. He represents clients across a broad range of industries—from Fortune 500 multinational organizations to local Chicagoland businesses—including restaurants, hotels, sporting venues, retailers, technology and healthcare companies, consumer products and food manufacturers, construction, automotive manufacturers, transportation, logistics, and staffing entities.

• Education & Credentials

Alex earned his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School and holds a Master of Communication Management and a Bachelor of Arts, both from the University of Southern California.

• Recognition & Leadership

Alex was recognized in the peer-nominated Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” from 2022 through 2024 and as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” from 2024 through 2026—an honor awarded to only 2.5% of attorneys in Illinois. Within Duane Morris, he holds significant leadership roles, chairing the firm’s global ELBI AI Task Force and serving on its AI Steering Committee, positioning him at the forefront of the firm’s work on artificial intelligence in the workplace.

• Professional Involvement

A prominent commentator on employment, privacy, and workplace technology issues, Alex’s legal analysis has been featured in publications including Forbes, International Employment Lawyer, Law360, Corporate Counsel, Westlaw Today, SHRM, HR.com, the Cook County Record, the Northern California Record, and TechTarget. Through his leadership of the firm’s AI Task Force and Steering Committee, he is actively shaping guidance on the rapidly evolving legal landscape surrounding artificial intelligence.

• Experience

Alex focuses his practice on defending businesses in high-stakes employment and privacy class actions and other complex disputes. As a core member of Duane Morris’s Class Action Defense Team, he represents clients in a wide array of industries and matters, drawing on deep experience with the employment and data privacy issues that most frequently expose companies to aggregate litigation risk. Before joining Duane Morris, Alex spent seven years as an associate at an international law firm, building the class action and employment litigation experience that anchors his practice today.

Zev L. Grumet-Morris, Senior Associate | Duane Morris LLP

Zev L. Grumet-Morris advises and litigates on behalf of companies in employment, commercial, and other civil matters in state and federal courts and agencies throughout the United States, as well as in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. Beyond the courtroom, he conducts HR training, investigations, and audits, handles company restructuring matters, and counsels businesses on affirmative action compliance and the development of their affirmative action programs. Zev works with clients ranging from small businesses to large multinational companies across industries including retail, manufacturing, distribution, and healthcare.

• Education & Credentials

Zev is a 2020 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was a member of The Elder Law Journal, and earned his B.A. with honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017. He is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

• Recognition & Leadership

A frequently quoted commentator on employment and affirmative action developments, Zev has been cited in outlets including SHRM and Commercial Observer on topics such as the rescission of federal affirmative action requirements and evolving DEI guidelines. He is a regular speaker on cutting-edge workplace issues, including pay equity audits and the risks of artificial intelligence in the workplace, presenting at the NILG Conference and Duane Morris Institute webinars.

• Professional Involvement

Zev serves as Campaign Vice Chair of the Investing in Justice Campaign sponsored by the Chicago Bar Foundation and as a board member of the University of Illinois College of Law Alumni Board. A prolific author, he contributes to the Duane Morris UpdatED Blog and the Duane Morris Class Action Review, and has co-authored numerous client alerts and articles—published in outlets such as Law360, Wharton Healthcare Quarterly, and The Journal of Federal Agency Action—on OFCCP compliance, Illinois employment legislation, pay data reporting, and affirmative action obligations for federal contractors.

• Experience

Zev has significant experience across all phases of employment and commercial litigation. He second-chaired the defense of a retail company in a week-long federal jury trial involving unpaid overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Illinois Minimum Wage Act—handling discovery, motion practice, and witness examinations and helping secure a defense verdict on the overtime claim and a counter-plaintiff verdict on an unjust enrichment counterclaim. He has prevailed on dispositive motions on behalf of an online fashion retailer facing Equal Pay Act, breach of contract, and Title VII claims, and for an equipment supplier facing discrimination and retaliation charges, as well as in multimillion-dollar construction litigation and a non-compete action. Zev regularly represents companies in nationwide reductions in force—advising on disparate impact, WARN analysis, and OWBPA disclosure obligations—and guides clients through OFCCP audits and affirmative action plan development, while also conducting internal FLSA and workplace culture and ethics investigations. He has served at Duane Morris as an Associate (2021–2025) and as Senior Associate since 2026.

SESSION 1 – Building a Legally Defensible AI-Assisted Reduction in Force | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session equips employment and labor counsel with an overview of reductions in force and the use and abuse of AI-assisted technologies to facilitate the process. Drawing on recent litigation confronting AI uses in employment, as well as an active state regulatory patchwork, attendees will learn the do’s and don’ts of privileged bias audits, OWBPA and WARN Act compliance, and multi-state notice obligations. Attorneys completing this session will be able to identify the benefits and potential pitfalls of relying on AI-assistance to administer their RIFs, structure attorney-directed bias testing to preserve privilege, and document the RIF in a manner that anticipates and protects businesses in discovery.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – Defending the AI Employment Lawsuits: Motions, Discovery, and Injunction Response | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

This session examines the litigation defense of lawsuits involving the use of AI in the employment decision-making processes. The presentation will examine some of the first major cases to reach the courts — including Does 1–26 v. Meta Platforms and Mobley v. Workday — to map the actual battlefield of motions practice, discovery disputes, and preliminary injunction responses. Attorneys will learn how courts are reacting to TRO and injunction requests; how AI bias-testing data, manager AI prompts, and algorithmic performance dashboards are relevant in discovery; and what the emerging state regulatory patchwork means for defense exposure. Attendees leave equipped with an understanding of pre-litigation strategies to incorporate AI into the employment decision-making process; AI employment litigation framework; discovery considerations relative to AI; and the human-in-the-loop documentation required to mount a credible defense.