The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is currently investigating complaints from American workers against Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of India’s largest IT companies, for alleged discriminatory layoffs. The workers claim that TCS unfairly targeted them for job cuts based on their race, age, and national origin while reportedly protecting Indian employees, particularly those on H-1B visas. These claims, which have surfaced primarily from workers over 40 and not of South Asian descent, suggest that during the recent tech industry slowdown, TCS laid off older, non-South Asian workers while retaining younger Indian employees.
The complaints, mostly filed by former employees in late 2023, have prompted an investigation by the EEOC, the agency responsible for addressing workplace discrimination issues in the US. However, the EEOC has not confirmed the investigation publicly, as such cases are typically kept confidential. The workers allege that they were disproportionately affected by layoffs compared to their Indian counterparts, many of whom were reportedly on H-1B visas, which are specifically designed for skilled workers in specialized fields.
TCS has vigorously denied the allegations, calling the claims “misleading” and maintaining that the company has always adhered to fair hiring practices in the US. The company has also been proactive in defending its position, suggesting that the layoffs were part of necessary workforce restructuring during an economic downturn, a common practice in the tech industry.
Interestingly, a similar case is currently being heard in the UK, where three former TCS employees have filed complaints in an employment tribunal, accusing the company of laying them off in 2023 based on their age and nationality. TCS has again denied these allegations, asserting that its practices were in compliance with local employment laws.
In the US, Representative Seth Moulton from Massachusetts has added political pressure to the situation, urging the EEOC to launch a full investigation into the claims. In April 2024, Moulton wrote a letter to the commission, noting that the repeated nature of such complaints might indicate a broader pattern of discriminatory behavior, as well as potential misuse of US visa programs like the H-1B.
The case has attracted further attention because of the growing scrutiny of Indian outsourcing companies’ use of US work visa programs. Critics argue that these companies exploit the visa system to favor foreign workers, often at the expense of local talent. In the case of TCS, Bloomberg reported that the company had extensively utilized the L-1A visa, a visa category meant for managers, to circumvent restrictions on the H-1B visa. Former employees have suggested that the L-1A visa was used as a loophole to bring in Indian workers under more favorable terms than other visa categories.
This controversy is not new for Indian IT companies in the US. In 2020, the EEOC found that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., another major outsourcing firm, had discriminated against non-Indian workers in its US operations. The company was found to have unfairly targeted over 2,000 employees between 2013 and 2022 based on their nationality, and a jury later ruled in favor of the affected employees. Cognizant, however, has denied the claims and is planning to appeal the decision.
The current situation involving TCS has highlighted ongoing concerns about the intersection of immigration policies, corporate practices, and discrimination. Some of the complaints made against TCS point to specific comments made by Milind Lakkad, the company's head of HR. Lakkad reportedly said that TCS was open to hiring Indian professionals in the US who had been let go by other tech firms, and further commented that the company hoped to reduce the percentage of American employees at TCS’s US offices from 70% to 50%, in favor of hiring more Indian workers.
While TCS has declined to comment on these specific complaints or statements, the allegations have raised questions about the ethical implications of hiring practices in multinational corporations, especially those that rely heavily on work visa programs. The EEOC’s current chair, Andrea R. Lucas, who was appointed by former President Trump, has made it clear that addressing discrimination against American workers is a priority for the commission. This ongoing investigation, along with the wider scrutiny of the tech industry’s employment practices, may shape future regulations surrounding work visas and the treatment of domestic workers in the US.
The case is significant not only for TCS but also for other companies in the global outsourcing sector that rely on the US market and the use of work visas for skilled labor. If the investigation by the EEOC leads to significant findings, it could trigger wider reforms in the way visa programs are utilized and monitored, with a stronger focus on ensuring fair treatment for American workers.
