California sues Cisco for Caste based Discriminating against Indian-American Employee! - Details

Cisco Systems Incorporation on Tuesday, was accused for discriminating an Indian-American employee for hailing from a lower Indian Caste. According to the Californian regulators, the company also allowed him to be harassed by to managers.

The lawsuit filed in San Jose, has not revealed the name of the victim. However, the victim has stated that he has been a principal engineer at Cisco, since October 2015 and that he was born at the bottom of the Indian caste hierarchy, Dalit who were once called as “untouchables.” The workforce in Cisco, includes thousands of Indian immigrants. However, reuters reported that most of them were born as Brahmins or in other higher castes.

The two who were accused in this case were former Cisco engineering managers, Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella. They have been accused for harassment and enforcing caste hierarchy. Cisco’s spokeswoman Robyn Blum said, “Cisco is committed to an inclusive workplace for all. We were fully in compliance with all laws as well as our own policies.”

The unnamed employee had reported Iyer to the Human Resource department in November 2016. However, Cisco determined caste discrimination to not be illegal and issues continued through 2018, stated the lawsuit.

Further, through a report, it was established that 67% of Dalits were treated unfairly at their respective U.S. workplaces.