Fired Infy staff in US returns to haunt co, files fresh suit

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Press Trust of India New Delhi
Last Updated : Oct 03 2014 | 6:20 PM IST
A former Infosys employee, who triggered a US investigation of the company's visa practices, has filed a fresh lawsuit against the firm demanding reappointment and compensation for alleged wrongful termination.
US national Jack Palmer, a former employee of India's second-largest software and outsourcing company, in the lawsuit filed with a New Jersey court said he had been discriminated against because he flagged alleged US via rules flouting by the company.
The lawsuit did not specify damages Palmer is seeking.
Infosys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Palmer had sued Infosys three years ago and lost in an Alabama state court in August 2012. At that time he had accused Infosys of harassing him because he raised concerns about possible visa violations at the company.
He had filed a fresh complaint with the US Department of Labor in May.
In the lawsuit filed on Thursday in a district court in New Jersey, he alleged that the company discriminated and retaliated against him.
Last year, Infosys paid USD 34 million to end an investigation into visa fraud and errors in its hiring records.
A Federal investigation into the company's visa practices said that Infosys used deceptive practices to bring Indian workers to the US on short-term, B-1 business visitor visas rather than the more expensive and difficult to acquire H-1B skilled worker visas to save time and money.
Infosys denied all charges, though it acknowledged errors in filing federal employment-verification records.
The investigation was triggered by Palmer's complaint in a Alabama court in 2011. In that lawsuit Palmer, who was still working for Infosys, said he was being harassed at the company because he refused to bend the visa rules.
Palmer lost the case and the state court asked him to pay costs to the company.
Infosys fired him last year.
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First Published: Oct 03 2014 | 6:20 PM IST

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