‘Avoid Indian-Origin Candidates’: Infosys Faces “Culture Of Bias” Suit In US

Jill Prejean, a former Vice President of Talent Acquisition with Infosys, claimed she was asked to avoid hiring candidates of Indian-origin, women with children and candidates above 50 years of age, according to reports.

Infosys, the Bengaluru-based IT giant, is facing a bias suit in a US court after a former executive, in a complaint last year, accused the company of discrimination in its hiring process, based on age, gender and nationality.

Jill Prejean, a former Vice President of Talent Acquisition with Infosys, claimed she was asked to avoid hiring candidates of Indian-origin, women with children and candidates above 50 years of age, according to reports.

She made the shocking admission before the United States District court for the southern district of New York. Ms Prejean had filed the suit against the company, and former executives of the company and partners in September last year.

Ms Prejean’s statement, as per the reports, said she was “shocked to find a rampant culture of illegal discriminatory animus among the partner level executives based on age, gender, and caregiver status”.

It said she “tried to change this culture within the first two months of her employment” in 2018 but was met with “resistance from Infosys partners – Jerry Kurtz and Dan Albright”.

The IT giant filed a motion to dismiss the suit by the complainant, who also claimed she was terminated for not complying with the company’s alleged illegal demands in hiring senior executives.

Infosys sought the dismissal on the grounds that Ms Prejean did not submit proofs for the allegations.

The court, however, rejected the motion and asked the company to submit a response within 21 days from the date of order (September 30).

NDTV New Channel tried to reach out to the company but got no response.

The lawsuit is against former senior VP and head of consulting Mark Livingston, and former partners Dan Albright and Jerry Kurtz.