Caste bias lawsuit against Cisco dismissed from California court, refiled in Santa Clara county state court

(Image: Wikipedia)

Caste bias lawsuit against Cisco filed in California court has been dismissed voluntarily and is now refiled in the state court of Santa Clara county court. California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) had filed the case at the District Court of the Northern District of California on behalf of John Doe, a dalit employee against two upper caste superiors.

In a statement to Moneycontrol, the spokesperson of DFEH said, “We’re proceeding in state court and have refiled the case in Santa Clara County. Because of the back up in the courts, we do not have the case number yet.”

However, the agency said it cannot disclose the reason for the change in court as it invades attorney client privilege. “Our attorneys do not comment on cases in open litigation,” the statement added.

In a separate statement to Moneycontrol about the move to change courts, Cisco, said, “Cisco does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and we thoroughly investigate any internal complaint of discrimination. This is exactly what happened in this matter. Given our principles, if we had found any discrimination or retaliation, we would have remediated it, regardless of the fact that there is no legal basis in the US for a claim of caste discrimination. We always welcome hearing from our employees about their experiences and how to strengthen our foundation of an inclusive and conscious culture.”

Caste in Silicon Valley

When the lawsuit was filed on June 30, it was the first time a state agency sued on grounds of caste putting the caste bias in the Silicon Valley in the spotlight.

The lawsuit accused two upper-caste Brahmins, Sundara Iyer and Raman Kompella, of harassing Doe, in their capacity as managers. Cisco was sued for allegedly denying the worker, who immigrated to the US from India, raises and professional opportunities as well as making him “endure a hostile work environment”.

The lawsuit further alleged that Doe could not get any relief from the company despite filing a complaint as early as 2016. The human resources department could not take any action on grounds of caste discrimination since it was not unlawful in the US.