Class action lawsuit against Tata
Class action lawsuit against Tata
Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 2:34 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
February 15, 2006 No. 1420
Looks like the Indian owned bodyshop is in big trouble. This time it's
Tata's own nonimmigrant visa holders that are filing the lawsuit. The
complaint titled "Gopi Vedachalam vs. Tata International", alleges that
Tata bilked their nonimmigrant workers by withholding too much US and state
income tax.
Tata required that their nonimmigrant workers allow a third party company,
hired by Tata, to calculate how much tax was to be withheld from their
paychecks. The nonimmigrants didn't have access to the tax calculation and
not surprisingly Tata took full advantage of that fact by pocketing any
excess money withheld from pay checks.
Plaintiff Gopi Vedachalam is an L-1 visa holder from India who worked as
project manager for Target in California. He transferred to the U.S. from
Tata-India to Tata-America and then was contracted to Target. If you wonder
why we call companies like Tata bodyshops, this is a perfect example. Rep.
Bill Pascrell's bill ("Defend the American Dream Act of 2005" or H.R. 4378)
would make it much more difficult for bodyshops to use L-1 visas in this
fashion.
Vedachalam said that he is representing employees from "India and other
countries". It would be interesting to know what other countries he is
talking about because Tata usually only hires Indians, but they have talked
about tapping the Chinese labor market. He said that Tata pocketed about
$5,000 per year per employee by over-withholding from their paychecks.
That's a tidy amount of cash when you consider the enormous number of
nonimmigrants Tata employs.
The complaint charges that most Tata employees in the United States are
non-U.S. citizens. They didn't quantify what "most" means but the legal
complaint gives a clue: "they are so numerous that joinder of all members
is impracticable". In non-legaleese that must mean that Tata has a whole
heck of a lot of nonimmigrants and just a few token Americans.
We can only imagine what Tata uses this windfall of cash for, but here are
a few of my speculative guesses:
1) They are taking the overpayment of taxes by their H-1Bs and putting it
into their own pockets. They should be able to afford some nice vacations
at the Haathi Mahalin beach clubs for that amount. Speaking of vacations,
Tata also screwed the nonimmigrants out of unused vacation pay!
2) They are using the extra money to lower billing rates. As we all know,
Tata has been underbidding US companies for state and local contracts.
Obviously they can do this by underpaying their H-1B and L-1 workers, but
being able to skim more money in the guise of taxes gives them an even
bigger advantage.
3) They could also be using the money as bribe money for contract managers.
It's a perfect kickback scheme - untraceable money. (I credit Vicky Davis
for thinking of this one.)
See this lawsuit filed by Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS)
vs. Hewlett Packard and Tata Consultancy to find out more about Tata's
discriminatory hiring habits. CAPS lost the lawsuit but not because Tata is
innocent, the judge let them off the hook on technicalities.
http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/Library/Legal/CAPS_vs_HP_Tata.txt
My guess is that Gopi Vedachalam will be more successful than CAPS simply
for the reason that our courts have far more sympathy for foreign workers
than US citizens, and more importantly Tata might have been cheating the
IRS out of money.
If you would like to view the legal complaint that was filed in the U.S.
District Court of California, click this link:
http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/Library/Legal/Tata_vs_Vedachalam.pdf
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1415985.cms
Employee files class action suite against Tata America
INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2006 02:23:52 PM]
NRIs Rang De Basanti FREE DVD
A Nationwide Class Action Lawsuit has been filed against Tata America
International Corporation in the US by tge law firm of Lieff Cabraser
Heimann & Bernstein, LLP against the company practice of forcing workers to
hand over federal and state tax refunds, reports Business Wire India. Tata
America is a subsidiary of the Tata group.
Gopi Vedachalam, a Tata America employee, on Tuesday filed a nationwide
class action lawsuit in the District Court in San Francisco against Tata
America International Corporation, and its parent Tata Consultancy Services
Ltd, as well as Tata Sons, Ltd.
The suit also charges that the Tata company has unjustly enriched itself by
requiring all of its non-US-citizen employees to endorse and sign over
their federal and state tax refund checks to Tata. The proposed class
action suit consists of thousands of current non-US citizen employees of
Tata working in the United States, plus former Tata employees dating back
to 2000.
"Tata's employees from India and other countries working legally in the
United States, including thousands of technical support personnel and
project managers, work hard to see that the American corporations they
support and Tata are profitable," stated Lieff Cabraser partner Steven M.
Tindall. "These workers are entitled to any amount of taxes they overpaid
federal and state tax agencies."
Tindall noted that this case constitutes one of the first class action
lawsuits against a company engaged in "reverse outsourcing," bringing
non-US citizens to the United States to work in US corporations, for
violation of labour laws.
The complaint charges that most Tata employees in the United States are
non-US citizens who work on visas. Tata requires each employee to sign an
agreement which states that the employee's gross amount of compensation
will be includable as earnings in the United States and reported to the US
Internal Revenue Service.
The complaint alleges that these employees are not paid the amount promised
them in these agreements. It further alleges that, at least until July
2005, Tata required its non-US-citizen employees to sign power of attorney
agreements delegating an outside agency to calculate and submit each
employee's tax return to state and federal authorities. Tata then required
its non-US-citizen employees who received tax refunds from state and
federal tax authorities to endorse the tax refund checks and send them back
to Tata.
Under California Labor Code Section 221, it is unlawful "for any employer
to collect or receive from an employee any part of wages theretofore paid
by said employer to said employee." The complaint also charges that Tata's
conduct violates this Code section as well as the common law forbidding
unjust enrichment and conversion.
From 2000 to 2003, plaintiff Gopi Vedachalam worked in Hayward, California,
as a Tata project manager assigned to Target. Since 2003, he has worked as
a Tata project manager for 21st Century Insurance in Woodland Hills,
California. "I work hard for Tata and the companies I have been assigned
to. I should receive the full wages Tata agreed to pay me, as should all
other Tata employees in America. I did not hand over my tax refund checks
voluntarily. I tried to recover these wages through Tata's internal
procedures, but I was met with either silence or refusal."
Vedachalam wants the US federal court to certify the case as a class action
and issue an injunction against Tata, preventing it from requiring its
employees to endorse their tax refund checks to the company to the extent
it is still doing so. The complaint also seeks compensation and damages for
current and former employees who were not paid what they were promised and
who were deprived of their tax refunds.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.lieffcabraser.com/press_releases/tata_press_20060214.htm
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP Announces Filing of Nationwide
Class Action Lawsuit Against Tata America International Corporation For
Requiring Workers to Hand Over Federal and State Tax Refunds
Suit Is Against Subsidiary of One of Indias Largest Conglomerates By
Non-U.S. Nationals Working in the U.S.
San Francisco, CA, February 14, 2006 -- Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP announced that Gopi Vedachalam, an employee of Tata America
International Corporation, filed today a nationwide class action lawsuit in
U.S. District Court in San Francisco against Tata America International
Corporation, and its parent corporations Tata Consultancy Services, Ltd.,
and Tata Sons, Ltd. (collectively referred to as "Tata"). Among other
allegations, the suit charges that Tata has unjustly enriched itself by
requiring all of its non-U.S.-citizen employees to endorse and sign over
their federal and state tax refund checks to Tata.
Tata is one of India's largest business conglomerates, with revenues last
fiscal year in excess of $17 billion. The proposed class consists of
thousands of current non-U.S. citizen employees of Tata working in the
United States, plus former Tata employees dating back to 2000.
"Tatas employees from India and other countries working legally in the
United States, including thousands of technical support personnel and
project managers, work hard to see that the American corporations they
support and Tata are profitable," stated Lieff Cabraser partner Steven M.
Tindall. "These workers are entitled to any amount of taxes they overpaid
federal and state tax agencies."
Tindall noted that this case constitutes one of the first class action
lawsuits against a company engaged in "reverse outsourcing," bringing
non-U.S. citizens to the United States to work in U.S. corporations, for
violation of labor laws.
The complaint charges that most Tata employees in the United States are
non-U.S. citizens. These employees are granted visas, which allow them to
work and live in the United States. Tata requires each employee to sign an
agreement which states that the employees gross amount of compensation
will be includable as earnings in the United States and reported to the
U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The complaint alleges that these employees
are not paid the amount promised them in these agreements.
The complaint alleges further that, at least until July 2005, Tata required
its non-U.S.-citizen employees to sign power of attorney agreements
delegating an outside agency to calculate and submit each employees tax
return to state and federal authorities. Tata then required its
non-U.S.-citizen employees who received tax refunds from state and federal
tax authorities to endorse the tax refund checks and send them back to
Tata.
Under California Labor Code Section 221, it is unlawful "for any employer
to collect or receive from an employee any part of wages theretofore paid
by said employer to said employee." The complaint also charges that
Tatas conduct violates this Code section as well as the common law
forbidding unjust enrichment and conversion.
From 2000 to 2003, plaintiff Gopi Vedachalam worked in Hayward, California,
as a Tata project manager assigned to Target. Since 2003, he has worked as
a Tata project manager for 21st Century Insurance in Woodland Hills,
California. "I work hard for Tata and the companies I have been assigned
to. I should receive the full wages Tata agreed to pay me, as should all
other Tata employees in America. I did not hand over my tax refund checks
voluntarily. I tried to recover these wages through Tatas internal
procedures, but I was met with either silence or refusal."
Mr. Vedachalam is asking the federal court to certify the case as a class
action and issue an injunction against Tata, preventing it from requiring
its employees to endorse their tax refund checks to the company to the
extent it is still doing so. The complaint also seeks compensation and
damages for current and former employees who were not paid what they were
promised and who were deprived of their tax refunds.
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