Former Vice President of Talent Acquisition - Infosys, Jill Prejean who was employed at the US leg of Bengaluru-headquartered IT company Infosys has claimed the company harboured a culture of bias. She has stated that she been asked by her senior executives not to hire people of Indian origin, women with children at home, and candidates aged 50 or above. Prejean filed the case against the company in September 2021. A United State District Court for the Southern District of New York has denied the plea to dismiss the former executive's complaint accusing the organization of discriminatory recruitment.
Prejean has filed the suit against the former senior VP and head of consulting Mark Livingston, and former partners Dan Albright and Jerry Kurtz. This is not the first time when an Indian IT company is facing an allegation of discrimination in hiring practices in the US. In her suit, she mentioned, “she was shocked to find a rampant culture of illegal discriminatory animus among the partner level executives based on age, gender, and caregiver status.”
Prejean also mentioned that partners of the company Kurtz and Albright “turned hostile” towards her when she objected to comply with illegal demands for hiring senior executives for the company. Jill Prejean tried to change the culture of the recruitment within the first two months after she joined, which resulted in resistance and the loss of her job. Infosys was also involved in a similar controversy last year when some female employees had alleged that the company gave men more lucrative assignments because they "have families to support", whereas women "have husbands to support them."
The court has asked the organization to submit their replies to the accusations within 21 days from the date of order on September 30. Infosys and the accused executives had filed for the liberation of the suit on grounds that the plaintiff did not highlight specific comments as proof. Being an Indian IT company if Infosys can restrict taking Indian employees and discriminates in the recruitment process, there is little else to expect from other organizations who come to India to set up shop or foreign companies that can be potential employers for Indians abroad.
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