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US-based Infosys employee, Mr Jay Palmer, who had accused his company of misusing US visa laws, has decided to fight back after the IT giant has accused him of lying.
In a written communication to Business Line , Mr Palmer's attorney, Mr Kenneth J Mendelsohn of Jemison & Mendelsohn, said, “Now that Infosys has accused Mr Palmer of lying, he does not want to settle and will prove to the world through Infosys' own emails, screen shots and documents that Infosys broke the law.”
Regarding what action the US courts and the US government are capable of taking in this case, Mr Mendelsohn said, “The US can suspend Infosys' H-1 privileges, can impose massive fines and penalties and even jail some of its employees.”
In a statement on July 26, to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, Mr Palmer said, “I witnessed and received emails, screen-shots and other documents proving that Infosys intentionally violated our visa and tax laws for the purpose of increasing revenues.” Infosys, however, has denied the charges levelled against it by Mr Palmer.
A ‘costly' step for company
According to Mr Mendelsohn, Infosys' decision to take the battle to a higher level could prove costly for the company. “Under our laws, punishment is based in part on whether Defendants cooperate with investigators or try to thwart the investigation. From past statements from Mr Murthy, I thought he was taking the position that he was saddened and remorseful and Infosys was cooperating with the criminal investigation. In my opinion, if Infosys fights the criminal investigation, it will be punished much more than if it apologised for its wrongful conduct.”
US Senator, Mr Chuck Grassley, in his statement before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security on July 26, said, “Infosys, one of the top ten H-1B petitioning companies, has worked to ‘creatively' get around the H-1B program by using the B-1 business visitor visa in order to bring in low-skilled and low-wage workers. However, B-1 visa holders are not able to receive salary or income from a US based company and thus, Infosys is being accused of visa fraud. That plaintiff, Jay Palmer, has written a statement to be placed into the record. The courts will decide if the activities of Infosys were illegal. But I can definitely say that their actions don't comport with the spirit of the law.”
Mr Palmer has specifically accused Infosys of working against the interests of US employees. “Infosys also decided to flood the consulate with applications in order to get as many approved as possible no matter the level of an individual's skill. This was totally about profit and not hiring Americans for jobs in the US due to higher salary requirements.”
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