TCS under probe for firing Americans, retaining H-1B workers in US: Report

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is investigating claims from former American employees of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT firm. The workers allege they were unfairly laid off due to their age, race, and national origin.

According to Bloomberg, several workers involved in the investigation are over 40 and not of South Asian descent. They allege that while they were laid off, Indian employees — some holding H-1B visas — were retained. These complaints started emerging in late 2023.

TCS DENIES ALLEGATIONS

However, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has firmly denied the allegations. “Allegations that TCS engages in unlawful discrimination are meritless and misleading. TCS has a strong track record of being an equal opportunity employer in the US, embracing the highest levels of integrity and values in our ethical standards,” the company stated.

Three former employees of TCS have lodged similar complaints to an employment tribunal in the UK, alleging the company discriminated against them in 2023 on grounds of age and nationality as part of a redundancy scheme, The Guardian reported. TCS rejected the allegations in a filing made to the tribunal.

In an unreleased April 2024 letter, US Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, wrote to the EEOC commissioners and its then-chair, Charlotte Burrows.

TCS’s actions “may have constituted a pattern-or-practice of discrimination impacting Americans that falls within the EEOC’s jurisdiction,” he wrote. “Additionally, it may also have been a potential misuse of US work visa programs designed to fill US labour shortfalls.”

TCS is India’s largest IT services company in terms of revenue, employing over 600,000 people worldwide. It is one of India’s most recognised companies, part of Tata Group, and like other outsourcers, it has US clients including automakers, airlines, financial institutions and others.

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