EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: Age Discrimination Suit Filed against Infosys because of Job Ad

March 17, 2011

New Jersey – India-based offshore company Infosys Technologies is facing a federal lawsuit after the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found the requirements indicated on their job ads are discriminatory toward older workers.

The man who filed the lawsuit, Ralph DeVito, applied for two tech job openings on Infosys as advertised on Monster.com in 2009. The first job required a “maximum experience” requirement of 15 years, while the other set a limit of 25 years. The experience requirement, which was found very narrow, sought someone in an expected range of between a minimum of 12 years and a maximum of 15.

Both applications were “immediately and automatically rejected” because he did not satisfy the maximum experience requirements, according to the lawsuit. DeVito was 58 when he applied for the jobs and has more than 25 years of experience in the jobs sought. His lawyer said that the 25 years experience excludes anyone who is over 40. Infosys has not commented on the pending litigation.

Monster Worldwide was also named in the lawsuit since all processes in the site were designed and controlled by Infosys, and are hosted on their website, according to a spokesman for the job site. The suit argues that Monster.com should have known that the maximum experience requirement established a de facto age limit.

DeVito first filed a complaint with the EEOC, and last November he received the right-to-sue letter, citing that the company violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The EEOC did not bring a lawsuit against Infosys even after an unsuccessful conciliation, but DeVito filed the lawsuit anyway. He is seeking jury trial and damages.