Infosys shrs rise after US court dismisses harassment case

Infosys shares rose over 3% on Tuesday morning after a US court dismissed a harassment case filed by a former employee against the software services provider.

The US court in Alabama, while dismissing the case found no basis to support the charges filed by Jack Palmer under Alabama state law.

Palmer had filed the case against Infosys saying the company retaliated against him and harassed him after he pointed out misuse of B-1 visas.

Infosys said the US court ruling confirmed what it had been saying from the beginning, that Palmer's claims against retaliation were completely unfounded.

"This is a company built on core values that include leadership by example, integrity and transparency. Those values always have and will continue to shape the way we do business with our clients, and without exception, the way we treat our people. We are pleased to consider this matter officially closed," it said in a statement.

While this court ruling in its favour will give Infosys a big boost, it still faces a second similar lawsuit filed earlier this month by Satya Dev Tripuraneni, who worked with Infosys for five years. He claims he too blew the whistle over the B-1 visa fraud and had complained to the company internally, but no action was taken.

Foreign workers seeking to work in the US need H-1B visas. However, Palmer had accused Infosys of using B-1 visas, meant for short-term use like attending conferences, to send workers to the US when the US State Department started putting a cap on H-1B visas.

At 9:45 hrs, Infosys shares were up 3.2% at Rs 2,426 on NSE.