A former vice president of Infosys’ human resources has sued the Indian IT company, and other senior US executives have also accused it of unlawful and discriminatory recruiting practices.
Former Infosys vice president of talent acquisition Jill Prejean said in a US court that the company urged her to avoid employing persons of Indian descent, women with children, and anybody over the age of 50. Infosys is being accused of discriminatory employment practices in the United States for the second time.
Details about Infosys was instructed not to hire persons of Indian origin, women who are mothers, or applicants who are 50 or older:
Following the case, Infosys and its officials pleaded in a US court for Prejean’s complaint to be dismissed. They asked for the resignation, citing the lack of jurisdiction and the former VP’s failure to identify particular remarks as evidence.
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Infosys’ request to throw out Prejean’s case, which contended that she had been fired in retaliation and endured hostile working circumstances. In Prejean’s lawsuit, Infosys, former business partners Dan Albright and Jerry Kurtz, and Mark Livingston, a former senior vice president, and director of consulting, are named as defendants.
Prejean claimed that in 2018, Infosys employed her at the age of 59. She was a specialist in hiring vice presidents and partner-level executives. In a study, it was reported that when she was working there, “she was astonished to see a prevalent culture of illegal discriminatory animus among the partner level executives based on age, gender, and caregiver position.”
Prejean’s complaint states that during her first two months of employment, she “tried to change this culture,” but was met with “resistance from Infosys partners, Jerry Kurtz and Dan Albright, who became hostile in the face of her objections and tried to circumvent her authority to evade compliance with the law.”
Prejean further reported that Infosys executives or partners frequently requested that the company not engage any more consultants of Indian descent, favor women without children at home, and favor people under the age of 50. She further claimed in her complaint that Infosys’ biases violated the human rights and laws of New York City and even cost her her job.
It should be noted that Infosys has received criticism in the past for using discriminatory hiring practices. Brenda Koehler, an American job applicant, said in 2013 that Infosys disqualified her based on her nationality. According to the complaint, Infosys employees in the US favor people with South Asian ancestry.
