Mr Jack Palmer, who had accused IT bellwether Infosys of misusing H-1B visas, considers the US court ruling rejecting any move for arbitration as a major victory for himself and now wants to show that he is right, his lawyer said.

“He is willing to fight it and is intent on proving to the world that he is right,” Mr Kenneth J. Mendelsohn of Jemison and Mendelsohn, the lawyer for Mr Palmer told Business Line . Mr Palmer, who has been an employee of Infosys since 2008, had accused Infosys of acting against the interests of US citizens.

In July, he said, “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.”

Infosys was trying to get the case resolved through arbitration, a private process that would have ensured that details of the case did not reach the public domain. However, Mr Justice Myron H. Thompson said the case would need a public hearing.

Commenting on this, Mr Mendelsohn said, “He (Mr Palmer) is very pleased because now we will be able to pursue his claims in a public forum.”

For the fiscal year 2010-2011, Infosys got 65.3 per cent of its revenues of Rs 25,385 crore from the US. For the quarter ended September 30, 2011, Infosys made revenues of Rs 8,099 crore, of which, again 65.3 per cent came from the US. Due to this, Infosys stock on the BSE fell by 2 per cent after the judge's decision was announced.

Infosys, which has been denied arbitration, may try to go in for an out-of-court settlement, but this has not materialised so far. When contacted by Business Line , Mr Mendelsohn, said, “I have not been contacted by Infosys.”

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