Sun suits allege discrimination, visa abuse

Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 9:25 AM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

Sun Microsystem's spokespersons are very smug. They gloat over their
dubious victory in the court hearing against Guy Santiglia. That
hearing was adjudicated by the Department of Labor who is typically
sympathetic towards employers. Santiglia's hearing wasn't a lawsuit so
Sun had a much easier job defending themselves. The lawsuit filed by
Walter Kruz won't be as cordial and friendly.

Sun discriminated against non-Indians for a long time and now they will
have to defend their anti-American behavior in a court of law. James A.
Caputo is a very capable lawyer that will wipe the smile off the faces
of those Sun spin-doctors. It will be very entertaining to watch Sun
sweat this one out. The heat is truly shining on Sun.

http://www.eet.com/story/OEG20030325S0042

Sun suits allege discrimination, visa abuse

By Margaret Quan, EE Times
March 26, 2003 (10:49 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20030325S0042

MANHASSET, NY Former employees have filed two lawsuits against Sun
Microsystems Inc. alleging discrimination on the basis of race and
national origin.

The suits describe an alleged bias at Sun where young, East Indians on
work visas such as H-1B and F-1 were preferred over U.S. nationals
because they were cheaper and would work longer hours.

Walter Kruz filed suit in the Superior court of the State of
California, County of Santa Clara, March 17th on behalf of himself and
"all others similarly situated" alleging violation of California's Fair
Housing and Employment Act and the state's Unfair Competition Law.

The 52-year-old former software engineering manager worked at Sun from
May 2000 until November 2001, when he was laid off in a reduction in
force that impacted 2,500 employees in the U.S.

His suit alleges that he, a Caucasian and U.S. national, was part of a
group disparately impacted by the Sun layoff while few East Indians or
East Indian visa holders lost their jobs.

The complaint describes how Sun planned to reduce its labor costs in
2001 by applying for and utilizing H-1B and F-1 student visas to
replace experienced, higher paid and older U.S. national workers with
East Indians.

Similar claims are made in a federal complaint filed January 15th in
the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on behalf of Gail
Matthews, a 43-year old former manager who worked for Sun from April
1989 until November 2001, and other non-California residents impacted
by the layoff.

Matthews' suit claims discrimination under Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964.

The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages for monies lost by being
wrongfully terminated and in the California case, which alleges a
purposeful discrimination Kruz seeks punitive damages as well.

The plaintiffs' attorney James A. Caputo of Spector, Roseman & Kodroff
(San Diego) called the cases "an attempt to right a wrong impacted
[enacted, committed] by Sun" and explained they are not a per say
indictment of H-1B, but " an abuse of that process."

A Sun spokeswoman said Sun is aware of the Kruz case and that prior
charges that Sun has abused the H-1B program or discriminated against
U.S. engineers "have also been found by agencies of the U.S. government
to be without merit."

She said: "We are very confident that Sun will be vindicated again when
given the opportunity to defend itself in court."

Norm Matloff, a computer science professor at University of California
at Davis and an activist on immigration reform, regards Sun as a "heavy
abuser of H-1B."

He pointed out that Sun has also been shown to misinform Congress on
its use of H-1B.

"When Sun testified to the U.S. Senate in 1998, it repeatedly stated
that it only employs H-1Bs if no qualified Americans are available to
do the job," noted Matloff.

In testimony on the High Tech Worker Shortage and Immigration Policy
before the committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, in Feb 1998,
Kenneth Alvares, vice president, human resources, corporate officer at
Sun said: "Sun gives employment priority to U.S. workers, but the small
part of our total U.S. workforce comprised of foreign-born employees,
such as those with temporary H-1B visas, are a critical element of our
success."

However, Matloff noted that today Sun admits to laying off Americans
while retaining H-1Bs in the same jobs: "Those laid-off Americans were
qualified to do the work, by definition they had been doing the work!"

In fact, Matloff said that in a hearing involving discrimination
complaints by former Sun contractor Guy Santiglia, Sun said that it
also does not give priority in hiring to Americans.

"So all those claims by Sun that they employ H-1Bs only when no
Americans are available were false," said Matloff.

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