Class Action Lawsuit Filed In The US Over 'Discrimination Against Non-Indians' By Bangalore-Based Infotech Company
[ By Bobby Anthony ]An American national has filed a class action lawsuit against Bangalore-headquartered Indian digital services company called Happiest Minds.The class action lawsuit has alleged that Happiest Minds displaces non-South Asians and non-Indians from their current positions in order to favor South Asian and Indian visa-ready individuals, at its San Jose based facility in the...
An American national has filed a class action lawsuit against Bangalore-headquartered Indian digital services company called Happiest Minds.
The class action lawsuit has alleged that Happiest Minds displaces non-South Asians and non-Indians from their current positions in order to favor South Asian and Indian visa-ready individuals, at its San Jose based facility in the United States.
An American national Tami Sulzberg has filed a class action lawsuit alleging that at least 90% of the Indian company’s workforce located in the United States comprises South Asians, primarily Indians.
The class action lawsuit has sought an order from a US court directing Happiest Minds to adopt a non-discriminatory method for hiring, firing and other employment-related decisions, besides also seeking unspecified damages from the company.
According to Sulzberg’s class action lawsuit, Happiest Minds allegedly secures H-1B visas and other visas for South Asian and Indian workers, who are then be used to fill up staff positions based in the United States.
The lawsuit has alleged that non-South Asian and non-Indian individuals are often displaced from their current positions in favor of South Asian and Indian US visa-ready individuals.
Allegedly, Sulzberg was replaced in her sales related position of Director of Business Development by an L-1 US visa holder called Chandan Das who had travelled from India to the US for work, according to the class action lawsuit.
Consequently, Happiest Minds hires a disproportionately high percentage of South Asians and Indians within the United States which far exceeds the proportion of those individuals in the relevant labor market, the class action lawsuit has alleged.
The class action suit has alleged that from January 2014 to October 2018, Happiest Minds hired 52 individuals in the US, 29 of whom (56%) are South Asian and 26 (50%) of whom are dependent of US visas.
It has also been alleged by the class action lawsuit that Happiest Minds terminates non-South Asians and non-Indians working in sales roles in the United States, at disproportionately higher rates, compared to South Asians and Indians.