American sues Infy, says hires 'mostly S Asians'

Brenda Koehler, a VMware-certified network engineer, has alleged Infosys ignored her and hired a Bangladeshi

A job seeker in the US, who failed to qualify for a position at Infosys, has filed a lawsuit against the company alleging the company was discriminating against US applicants in favour of candidates belonging to South Asia.

In the lawsuit filed in a US District Court, Brenda Koehler, a Wisconsin-based information technology professional with17 years of experience, has alleged Infosys ignored her qualifications and eventually hired a Bangladeshi.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Infosys categorically denied the allegations. “Infosys is an equal-opportunity employer. We categorically deny Koehler’s claims. We look forward to addressing this matter in court, not in public venues where facts can become mixed with rumour, opinion and speculation,” the company said.

Koehler is said to be a VMware-certified network engineer with a master's degree in information systems. She had applied for the lead VMware/Windows administrator position at Infosys, according to the lawsuit.

“Infosys has engaged in a systemic pattern and practice of discriminating against individuals who are not of South Asian descent in hiring,” says the document produced in court by Koehler’s lawyers, according to international media reports.

According to the lawsuit, Koehler is seeking a class-action status for the “thousands” of Americans not of South Asian descent (potential plaintiffs) who were denied jobs at Infosys since January 1, 2009.

Infosys, however, said the case did not deserve to be treated as a class-action suit. “It is important to understand that no proof of class action suitability has been presented and no court has ruled that the case is appropriate for class-action treatment,” the statement added.

The lawsuit has also alleged that more than 90 per cent of Infosys’s 15,000-odd US employees were foreigners, with most being of South Asian origin. It said despite the availability of qualified Americans, Infosys was using H-1B visas to hire foreigners.