IT major Infosys is facing yet another charge of racism as one of its former employees has filed a lawsuit against the company.
The plaintiff in the case, Davina Linguist who has sought a jury trial in Eastern District Court of Texas, has alleged that Infosys 'retaliated' against her, for testifying in 2016 against the company, in yet another suit.
"Soon after the deposition, Infosys retaliated against Ms Linguist (Davina Linguist), stripping her of her title as the head of diversity recruiting (and replacing her with an individual with no relevant experience) and demoting her, among other improper conduct," the complaint said, seeking compensation for the damages.
Davina, at that point in time, was the head of diversity recruiting at Infosys.
The complaint further alleges that it was 'demotion' for Davina, as the company made her full-desk recruiter – a position that she had held prior to her becoming the head of Infosys’ Diversity Recruiting Program in 2012.
Subsequently, Davina, who is a US national of African-American origin, says that she was forced to resign from Infosys on March 7, 2017.
Infosys had denied all allegations of discrimination and retaliation. "Infosys Ltd is aware of the case recently filed by former employee Davina Linguist. Infosys Ltd denies all allegations of discrimination and retaliation and will defend itself in this matter," the company said in a statement.
The allegations of racism aren't new to Infosys. In October last year, an anonymous whistleblowers' letter had alleged racism and misogynistic charges against the company's CEO Salil Parekh, along with alleging financial impropriety. However, later on, the company, later on, gave a clean chit to Parekh.
Davina had testified in a case filed by Brenda Koehler, an American job applicant who had accused the company of discrimination against local job applicants by favouring workers from South Asia to fill positions in the US.
The complaint alleges bias towards South Asians by the company. "Infosys employs approximately 20,000 employees in the United States, roughly 90% of whom are South Asian and Indian, even though only 1-2% of the US population is South Asian," the complaint has alleged.
Along with the racism charges coming at a time when the US is up in arms against the racial discrimination in the country following the death of 46-year-old Minneapolis resident, George Floyd, the allegations of South Indian bias may prove costly for the company at a time when President Donald Trump is bidding for re-election to office.
Earlier in March, in March, peer IT services provider Wipro faced a class-action suit in the US filed by ex-employees alleging the company of ‘discriminatory employment practices’.