Focus: Former Employee Sues Wipro In US On Wage Issues

After Infosys, IT giant Wipro is now facing a lawsuit in the US from a former employee, who has alleged violation of local labour codes and issues with wage settlements. Wipro, however, vigorously defend the allegations.

Suri Payala in Superior Court of the State of California, alleges that Wipro had violated local labour codes and failed to pay over-time wages, among others.

The complaint, filed by Suri Payala in Superior Court of the State of California, alleges that the Bengaluru-based firm had violated local labour codes and failed to pay over-time wages, among others.

Payala said he worked with Wipro for the first six months of 2014 as a computer technician and was outsourced to DIRECTV in California.

He alleged that Wipro intentionally misclassified employees like to circumvent local labour laws on wages and overtime.

When contacted, a Wipro spokesperson said: “Wipro abides by the laws of every jurisdiction where we do business.

While we do not comment on pending litigation, suffice to say Wipro will vigorously defend these allegations.”

Wipro’s larger rival, Infosys has faced a similar situation but with a US national alleging that Infosys was sending Indian employees to the US to work on projects on short-term, non-employment (B1) visas, in violation of American immigration regulations.

Jack Palmer alleged that Infosys was doing this to circumvent increased restrictions around work visas.