US lawsuit win: TCS says will continue to invest in people irrespective of their national origin

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Thursday said its employee hiring and retention decisions are based "purely on capabilities" and not on background or national origin, as a US jury ruled in favour of India's biggest IT firm in a case involving charges of discrimination.

A California jury unanimously sided with TCS, saying the Indian company did not discriminate against non-south Asian workers in the US as alleged in a lawsuit, marking a significant win for the Mumbai-based firm as well as for the over USD 120 billion Indian IT outsourcing industry.

"We have always maintained, the claims made in this case were baseless and we are gratified that the jury agreed...So the decisions we make about the hiring and retention of employees are based purely on their capabilities and fit in serving our customers' business needs," a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) spokesperson said in a statement here.

The success of TCS rests on the talents, expertise and deep industry knowledge of its employees, who help customers in growth and transformation journeys, the spokesperson added.

The company asserted it will continue to invest in its people, impart digital training and empower them to succeed at TCS and enable customers' success, "irrespective of their background or national origin".

Describing itself as a "global company", TCS said the United States -- where it has been operating for over 40 years -- is the world's business and technology leader and very important to the company.

During July-September 2018, TCS' revenue grew 8.1 per cent over the previous sequential quarter in the North America region. The market accounted for close to 52 per cent in the said quarter.

"Skilled American workers are critical to the success of the US business and to the nation's economic success, and we will continue to invest heavily in the country's workforce, academic alliances and our extensive youth STEM education initiatives," the spokesperson said.

With countries like the US, the UK and Australia increasing scrutiny over the temporary work visas, many Indian IT companies have stepped up hiring locals to reduce dependence on work permits.

These companies are also engaging extensively with local academic institutions to train professionals, especially in new-age technologies like automation, artificial intelligence and big data.

There have been past instances where allegations of misuse of work visas have been levelled against Indian IT firms like TCS and Infosys.

According to a report in legal news portal law360.com, the unanimous nine-member jury found in an Oakland, California court Wednesday that TCS did not have a "pattern or practice" of intentionally discriminating against non-south Asian workers due to their race or national origin.

The verdict came after one day of deliberations, ending a trial that began on November 5 over a class action lawsuit brought by three former TCS employees, Christopher Slaight, Seyed Amir Masoudi and Nobel Mandili, who claimed in the suit that they received fewer work opportunities and were eventually fired because of their races and national origins.

The report said that their attorney presented data claiming that the company has fired less than 1 per cent of its south Asian employees, who are mostly Indian, in the US, compared with 10.6 per cent of its non-south Asian employees.

The suit also alleged that TCS let go of 78 per cent of its non-south Asian workers who were taken off job assignments, or "benched" from work, between 2011 and 2014, while only 22 per cent of benched south Asians were fired, even though they made up half of the company's US workforce.