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Business News/ Companies / News/  TCS faces US trial in anti-American bias case
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TCS faces US trial in anti-American bias case

A federal judge in California rejects request from TCS to dismiss a 2015 lawsuit accusing it of violating anti-discrimination laws by favouring South Asians

TCS and its rival Infosys Ltd have both been squeezed by the Donald Trump administration to hire more Americans on US soil. Photo: MintPremium
TCS and its rival Infosys Ltd have both been squeezed by the Donald Trump administration to hire more Americans on US soil. Photo: Mint

Los Angeles: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) will have to defend itself at a US trial over claims that it’s biased against American workers.

A federal judge in Oakland, California, on Wednesday rejected a request from the information technology outsourcing giant to dismiss a 2015 lawsuit accusing it of violating anti-discrimination laws by favouring South Asians.

In a further setback for the company, the judge also expanded the case into a class action on behalf of American workers who lost their jobs at TCS offices in the US because they had not been assigned to any of its clients.

“In vindication of our position that TCS is an Equal Opportunity Employer, the District Court in California has denied class certification on a litigation against the company alleging a pattern and practice of discrimination in hiring against people of non-South Asian origin," said a spokeswoman of TCS.

“The same court has however granted class certification in respect to allegations of discrimination in practices related to termination of employees. This part of the litigation will move to the next phase of trial. TCS will vigorously defend its position and expects positive outcome.

“There are no discriminatory practices in any part of the company and TCS is confident that it will be able to defend its position at the Trial," said a spokeswoman.

While the case predates President Donald Trump’s election, its objective mirrors one of his campaign promises: to reduce the use of overseas workers in US jobs.

TCS, Asia’s largest software maker, and Infosys Ltd, a rival Indian outsourcing firm facing a similar lawsuit in Milwaukee, have both been squeezed by the Trump administration to hire more Americans on US soil.

In April, Trump signed an executive order aimed at overhauling the work-visa programs companies use to bring overseas workers to the US. The next month, Infosys, which employs about 200,000 people around the world, said it planned to hire 10,000 Americans over the next two years.

The lawsuit against TCS was filed in 2015 by a white IT worker who claimed he was subject to “substantial anti-American sentiment" within the company and was ultimately terminated within 20 months despite having almost 20 years of experience in the field. He was later replaced as the lead plaintiff by two other men.

One, Brian Buchanan, said he worked at Southern California Edison for 28 years when the company outsourced the bulk of its IT work to TCS. He was among 400 people terminated, but said he was asked to stay on for a few months to train the Indian TCS employees that were replacing him. Buchanan claims that at a job fair organized for the employees losing their jobs, the South Asian TCS regional manager was dismissive of his interest in a position.

TCS argued Buchanan’s experience does not prove he was a victim of bias. He has “no idea" whether the application process was discriminatory because he did not attend any of the town hall meetings he was invited to during the Edison transition to learn about open positions with TCS and how to apply for them—and he did not apply for a specific job, the company said in a court filing.

The four workers who sued Infosys over similar allegations four years ago in Milwaukee are represented by the same law firm that filed the TCS suit. Bloomberg

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Published: 28 Dec 2017, 10:05 AM IST
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