At least 20 employees of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the US have accused the Indian multinational of terminating their services so that their roles could go to Indians holding H1-B visas. Having been laid off suddenly without any notice, these disgruntled employees have alleged that TCS unlawfully discriminated against them on the basis of race and age.
The company has however denied these allegations and called them baseless claiming that it believes in providing equal opportunities to everyone and that there is no reason for anyone to doubt the integrity of its operations. The company maintains that amidst falling demand it is having to examine its cost structure and focus more on onboarding those who already have offer letters in hand.
This isn’t the first time that TCS is facing such allegations. In August 2023, TCS received some respite in a lawsuit filed against it in a US court located in New Jersey alleging discrimination and breaching of visa regulations.
The lawsuit was initiated by Shawn Katz, who was associated with the company for nine years. He claimed that he was subjected to illegal employment practices based on his race and nationality. He also mentioned that the Indian IT firm engages in systematic bias against candidates and workers who are not of South Asian or Indian origin, in matters pertaining to recruitment, assignment of projects, dismissal from job, and promotions. Fortunately, the New Jersey court decided not to proceed with Katz’s allegations based on race, as he could not provide sufficient evidence to support this claim. At the time, the court ruled that the company’s policies pertaining to benching, recruitment and dismissal with the intention of optimising visa-holders, did not appear to be impartial on the surface.
The WSJ reports that since December 2023, at least 20 employees have approached the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. These include Caucasians, Asian-Americans, and Hispanic Americans in the 40 to 60 age range..
