May 8, 2015, Milwaukee, WI – District Judge Pamela Pepper denied Infosys’ challenge to plaintiffs’ complaint alleging systematic employment discrimination against Americans in hiring, termination, and other employment decisions. The Court held that “the complaint adequately pleads claims (a) under Title VII for disparate treatment and disparate impact on the basis of race and national origin, and (b) under § 1981 for disparate treatment on the basis of race.”
Plaintiffs allege Infosys’ employment discrimination is extensive, and affects Infosys workers and applicants across the United States. According to a news article cited in the complaint, an Infosys hiring manager admitted that: “There does exist an element of discrimination. We are advised to hire Indians because they will work off the clock without murmur and they can always be transferred across the nation without hesitation unlike [a] local workforce.” Compl. ¶ 3. The four named plaintiffs seek to represent a class of similarly situated non-South Asian workers and applicants. The Court found “that the plaintiffs’ class allegations are sufficient to demonstrate that they could maintain a class action after discovery.”
A copy of the decision can be found here.