US IT worker files hiring lawsuit against Infosys

Its about time this long pending issue is addressed by the legal system. From the birthplace of many IT technologies, they can't find qualified candidates in US? BS is what I say. Agreed that profits is the ultimate goal however the company seems to be engaged in discrimination against their own citizens even in India let alone US. I have personally witnessed several such incidents/cases where US worker is sidelined despite the qualifications. On the contrary, not every single H1B worker from India is highly qualified. There have been cases of many false representation and degrees of the workers from India. Most of the time the workers attend a few weeks courses in a private school focusing on a specific technology and qualify for the work before obtaining the Visa for H1B. There might be truth in the number of graduates in US are much lower compared to India however this might be one of the reasons besides many why many students do not opt for technical majors in college to begin with. Hopefully there will be a positive outcome from this lawsuit.

SOURCE

A Wisconsin IT professional has filed a lawsuit against Indian outsourcing firm Infosys alleging that the company discriminates against U.S. job applicants in favor of South Asians for jobs in the U.S.
Brenda Koehler, an IT worker with 17 years of experience, alleges that Infosys ignored her qualifications and eventually hired a Bangladeshi worker to staff a position she was qualified for. Koehler and her lawyers are asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to allow a class-action lawsuit against Infosys, with "thousands" of potential plaintiffs in the case, according to the lawsuit, filed Thursday.
"Infosys has engaged in a systemic pattern and practice of discriminating against individuals who are not of South Asian descent in hiring," Koehler's lawyers wrote in court documents.
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IDG News Service - A Wisconsin IT professional has filed a lawsuit against Indian outsourcing firm Infosys alleging that the company discriminates against U.S. job applicants in favor of South Asians for jobs in the U.S.

Brenda Koehler, an IT worker with 17 years of experience, alleges that Infosys ignored her qualifications and eventually hired a Bangladeshi worker to staff a position she was qualified for. Koehler and her lawyers are asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to allow a class-action lawsuit against Infosys, with "thousands" of potential plaintiffs in the case, according to the lawsuit, filed Thursday.

"Infosys has engaged in a systemic pattern and practice of discriminating against individuals who are not of South Asian descent in hiring," Koehler's lawyers wrote in court documents.

A representative of Infosys said the company categorically denies the allegations. "We're an equal-opportunity employer," she said.

Koehler, a VMware-certified professional network engineer with a master's degree in information systems, was denied a lead VMware/Windows administrator position at Infosys, the lawsuit alleges.

"Ms. Koehler's experience is not unique," Donna Conroy, director of Bright Future Jobs, a group advocating for U.S. tech workers, said in an email. "High-tech companies claim they can't find Americans to fill U.S jobs, when, in fact, they are rejecting talented Americans -- as this lawsuit reveals."

The lawsuit, citing comments from former Infosys employees, alleges that more than 90 percent of the company's 15,000 U.S. employees are foreign workers, with most of them from South Asia. The company is using H-1B visas to hire foreign workers "to performA jobs for which there are qualified American workers available," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit alleges that Infosys' hiring practices violate the Civil Right Act of 1964. Koehler's lawyers want the court to issue a permanent injunction against the alleged discriminatory hiring practices at Infosys. They also want the court to order the company to adopt a "valid" method for hiring workers in the U.S.

reply to post by hp1229


Are you suggesting the Government should control whom businesses can and can not hire?

Doesn't really sound like a free market, does it?

I agree! It's about time someone stands up to these companies that are outsourcing jobs for lower pay individuals.

I see it everyday where I work and it makes me sick to know that there are hungry people on the streets here at home and they outsource to India because it's pennies on the dollar and they don't have to pay medical benefits.

I wish them the best of luck in their lawsuit and hope it will open up some corporate eyes.

Originally posted by BritofTexas
reply to post by hp1229

 

Are you suggesting the Government should control whom businesses can and can not hire?

Doesn't really sound like a free market, does it?

Free market? what free market? is your job that safe? Or are you rich you don't have/want a job?

Originally posted by BritofTexas
reply to post by hp1229

 

Are you suggesting the Government should control whom businesses can and can not hire?

Doesn't really sound like a free market, does it?

If those being hired are being hired simply because they are cheaper and being brought into the US to work on work visa's then yes...they should regulate it. While the US job market is at such a low point there should be restrictions in place as to "importing" foreign workers to work on US soil. Give the jobs to the US citizens with the qualifications first...if we want the economy to come back that would work well. Most of the foreign workers here on visa's are sending their hard earned dollars out of country and not spending them on goods and services in the US.

I am all for regulating who can and can't work in the US. In certain situations it would be unavoidable, especially for highly specific job functions where there may only be a handful of individuals world wide that can perform. My issue is that these companies are hiring cheap labor and buying citizenship when there are plenty of qualified candidates here in the US already.

reply to post by pikestaff


The post was sarcastic.

Although in a free market employers can hire whomever and from wherever they like.

And we still follow the idea like Lemmings.

Originally posted by BritofTexas
reply to post by hp1229

 

Are you suggesting the Government should control whom businesses can and can not hire?

Doesn't really sound like a free market, does it?

I don't think the government has the right to tell you who you can and can not hire but when it''s obvious you are taking advantage of the american people and our countries willingness to give outsiders of our country a decent chance by not hiring Americans seems like some legislation down the line allowed # like this to happen (run-on's ftw). If you are an american based company and you don't employee Americans but ware willing to over charge us for your product when it was us who allowed you here, gtfo.

Originally posted by BritofTexas
reply to post by hp1229

 

Are you suggesting the Government should control whom businesses can and can not hire?

Doesn't really sound like a free market, does it?

No not the government but definitely the laws should be applicable against discrimination of any form. I'm glad someone decided to file a lawsuit and investigate any wrong doing. Certainly it started off with the H1 visas granted for 'special skills' that were in shortage. Now they all use it as a 'chop shop' to get the cheapest talent which is available in the US as well. Nothing new it has been happening since the 90's.