Tata Consultancy Services Ltd will have to defend itself at a US trial over claims that it’s biased against American workers. A federal judge in California, 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 hadn't been assigned to any of its clients. A TCS representative declined to comment on the ruling.
While the case predates President 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 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 programmes companies use to bring overseas workers to the US. Infosys, which employs about 2,00,000 people around the world, said it planned to hire 10,000 Americans over the next two years.
