Five former employees of IT major Wipro have filed a class-action lawsuit in the US against the company accusing it of indulging in ‘discriminatory practices’.
The suit alleges that Wipro has a general policy of discrimination in favour of South Asians and against individuals who are not South Asian and not Indian. It was reportedly filed in a district court in New Jersey in March.
The lawsuit claims that at least 80% of Wipro’s US workforce is South Asian (mainly from India) while only around 12% of the United States IT industry as a whole employs South Asians.
"This grossly disproportionate workforce results from Wipro's intentional pattern and practises of employment discrimination against individuals who are not South Asian and who are not of Indian national origin, including discrimination in hiring, promotion, and termination decisions, and its use of employment practices that result in a disparate impact on those same groups,” the lawsuit alleges.
Wipro, meanwhile, has refused to comment citing that it’s a pending litigation.
Out of the five former employees who are all US citizens, four of the litigants viz. Gregory MacLean, James Gibbs, Ronald Hemenway and Rick Valles are of American origin, while the fifth, Ardeshir Pezeshki is of Iranian origin.
The class action lawsuit asks Wipro to adopt a non-discriminatory method for hiring, promotion, termination, and other employment decisions and has demanded a “trial by jury”.
"To fulfil its employment preference for South Asians and Indians, Wipro seeks to maximize the number of visas it receives each year from the federal government,” the lawsuit further alleges.
Wipro has consistently been one of the top five H-1B visa recipients. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru and employs over 1,60,000 people globally, with over 14,000 employees in the US alone.