Katz alleged that the IT major has engaged in a pattern of discriminating against individuals who are not South Asian or Indian in hiring and employment decisions. A class-action lawsuit is a type of lawsuit in which one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group.
TCS did not have an immediate comment to offer.
In 2018, a California district court ruled in favour of TCS in a similar lawsuit filed by three former employees.
The latest lawsuit accuses TCS of “knowingly and intentionally creating and maintaining an overwhelmingly disproportionate workforce in the United States that consists of approximately 70% South Asian employees (primarily from India).”
It claimed that while only about 12% to 13% of the United States’ IT industry is South Asian, approximately 70% of TCS’ United States workforce is South Asian, mainly Indian employees who are in the US on work visas.
“Throughout the class liability period, TCS has used discriminatory policies and practices related to hiring, staffing, promotion, and termination described herein that have resulted in a disparate impact on non-South Asians and non-Indians who, as a result, are disproportionately not hired, not selected for positions, not promoted, benched, and/or terminated. These practices are neither job-related for the positions at issue nor consistent with business necessity,” stated the lawsuit.
It claimed that TCS’ talent acquisition strategies are designed to attract and favour Indian candidates, and that TCS offers better career growth opportunities to candidates on visas over non-Indian and non-South Asian candidates.
Katz, who worked with TCS for over nine years, claimed he was fired after not finding the right opportunities within the organisation due to a lack of assistance from the hiring teams that allocate projects to employees.