TCS accused of firing US workers in favour of Indians on H-1B visa

TCS has faced accusations of favouring H-1B visa holders over American workers, with discrimination claims related to race and age being levelled against the company

Tata Consultancy Services, India's leading IT company, is facing a new lawsuit in the US, reported The Times of India (ToI). The lawsuit alleges that TCS has targeted older American workers at its US operations for termination to make way for foreign workers on temporary visas.

TCS, a major user of H-1B visas popular in the tech industry, has faced previous litigation over alleged preferential treatment of South Asian workers who are not US citizens.

The complaint, filed by former employee Randy Devorin, claims that TCS has replaced older White workers with recent graduates on temporary work visas. Devorin, 61, was laid off from TCS in 2023 after a decade with the company.

"Based on Mr Devorin's discussions with colleagues, the layoff appears to have targeted non-Indians who were over 40 years of age," according to the complaint in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The lawsuit also references statements by TCS Chief Operating Officer N Ganapathy Subramaniam about plans to hire 40,000 recent college graduates this year.

Devorin's complaint alleges violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Section 1981 of the 1866 Civil Rights Act. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and attorney's fees.

This lawsuit follows reports by the Wall Street Journal that at least 22 American workers have filed complaints against Tata with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since December. These complaints allege race and age-based discrimination in favour of Indian workers on temporary visas. Devorin was among the workers who filed complaints with both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Florida Commission on Human Relations.

The lawsuit also revealed that, of the 14 global managing partners initially laid off, three Indian global managing partners were subsequently rehired for different roles, while the others were not.