California employment lawyers are suing Cisco for caste-discrimination of an Indian-American employee. According to a spokesman about the lawsuit, the company permitted two higher-level managers to harass the employee based on his caste. Sometimes these problems with negative cultural-related habits parallel & increase the depth of the discriminatory issues in America.
When looking for an employment lawyer Los Angeles, California is a good place to start. The Sunshine State is home to some of the most highly valued companies in tech that employee thousands of people across their university-style campuses. One of those companies based in Oakland, Cisco, is the subject of a discrimination lawsuit against an Indian-American. Technology companies attract many bright and promising Indian immigrants, but they also bring with them the cultural prejudices between them based on their caste.
Caste Discrimination in the Workplace
Caste is a method of dividing Hindus into groups based on their religion and background. As a consequence, this dictates their social status and thus leaves them open to discrimination by higher castes. The two defendants in the lawsuit, Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella, two high-ranking Cisco engineers, are accused of harassing an unnamed employee based on his low Dalit caste status.
According to the lawsuit, the unnamed employee reported the harassment to human resources in November 2016. Iyer apparently shared the employees’ Dalit caste status to other employees, leaving them open to discrimination and ridicule. Cisco decided that caste discrimination was not prohibited by law and let the issue pass. Reportedly, Cisco also denied opportunities, such as wage increases and promotions, to the unnamed employee after the incident.
As these types of issues with negative cultural imports habits join the list of discriminatory issues in America, California faces more issues as employment is faltering for many basic Americans.
Unemployment Fears
While discrimination is putting many employee’s jobs in jeopardy, many more people around the country are out of a job entirely. California employment lawyers may be experiencing less cases since unemployment is at an all-time high since the outbreak of the coronavirus. Forbes Senior Contributor Jack Kelly commented on the state of the country with regards to employment:
“The bulk of the June job gains were not newly created roles, but rather businesses rehiring employees who’ve been previously furloughed and brought back,” he said. “The data, as dire as it is, doesn’t tell the entire story. We’ve seen overwhelming reports indicating that the economy continues to crumble and it’s not likely to get better anytime soon.”
“Roughly 1.3 million Americans have filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, according to the United States Department of Labor,” he continued. “If you add in the 1 million pandemic claims filed by gig-economy and related workers, we’re at an alarming 2.3 million Americans who sought unemployment assistance last week.”
Many stores may also choose to close based on what is happening in each individual case, as is the case with Disney and Apple:
“Some major retailers and attractions are also closing of their own accord absent any renewed local restrictions,” read one Forbes report. “Disney announced Wednesday that its Disneyland resort in Anaheim, California would not reopen on July 17 as scheduled (though Disneyworld, in Florida, is still slated to reopen next month), and Apple announced this week that it is reclosing its stores in states where Covid-19 cases are spiking (Texas, Arizona, and Florida, among others).”
An Uncertain Time
It is no doubt an uncertain time for the United States amid the outbreak of COVID-19 leaving many without jobs, and ongoing discrimination in the workplace. Citizens facing this type of harassment can contact California employment lawyers and file a report. Immigrants working in U.S. based companies can also feel secure knowing that the law protects them from this type of discrimination.
