A day after Trump takes oath as the 45th president of the US; tech firms are preparing themselves to face the wrath. Though the US has been the biggest market for Information Technology Services, outsourcing jobs to Asians has been rampant for over decades for lack of local talent. In his campaign speeches, among many proposals, Trump had vouched to stop Asians and Indians taking technical jobs in America, which probably won him young votes who are struggling to find jobs in the country.
As an omen to tech firms, earlier this week software giant Oracle has been sued by the US Labour Department for discriminatory hiring practices against White, Hispanic and African-Americans in favour of Asians, particularly ‘Asian Indians.’
Technology companies like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services may soon be subjected to such allegations, if Trump sticks to campaign mandate.
"I would expect to see a rise in the number of lawsuits which are then further amplified by a populist press,” Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of IT consultancy firm, Everest Group told The Economic Times. He also added that rising protectionism in both the US and the UK fosters an environment which encourages law suits. Samuel also sees "increased scrutiny, from US regulators creating more friction.
"We continue to hire and invest locally. However, given the skill shortages in the US and the availability of technically skilled workforce in various global markets, we also rely upon visa programs to supplement these skills,” Infosys COO Pravin Rao told the ET.
"In addition, the president is a seasoned entrepreneur and as such we expect the administration to be business friendly and innovation friendly,” said Rao.
While the Indian outsourcing industry has now pumped to $150 billion, not many senators or politicians were much vocal about it.
"American tech workers are now grasping that Equal Employment Opportunity laws protect them and that prestigious law firms are willing to take these cases on contingency,” Donna Conroy, executive director of the Chicago-based tech advocacy group Bright Future Jobs told the ET. She added that US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can also independently initiate investigations against an employer - without an aggrieved party.
Patrick Thibodeau, national correspondent, Computerworld, told ET that the Barack Obama administration never pursued a national origin discrimination case against any IT offshore industry firm (or the company that hired the contractor).
Moreover, the Trump administration can bring about H-1B reform in three ways. "It can issue executive orders that change some of the rules around the work visa, it can push for legislative reforms in Congress, and it can bring court cases accusing firms of discrimination when they replace a US worker with a visa holder. The Trump administration is likely to use all three approaches”, he said.