Dive Brief:
- HCL America, a technology consulting company based in Santa Clara, California, will pay $495,000 to settle an age and national origin discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in August 2024, according to a consent decree filed April 2.
- According to the complaint, HCL America interviewed and then refused to hire a candidate because — as the sales director told the hiring team via email, copying the interviewee — he was “too old” for the position. The sales director suggested the team prioritize “diverse candidates,” referring to those who were non-Indian, female or both, EEOC said.
- Under the two-year consent decree, in addition to paying the interviewee $495,000, HCL America will work with a third-party consultant to review and revise its policies and procedures regarding age- and national origin-based discrimination. It will also train its recruitment staff, managers and supervisors.
Dive Insight:
EEOC charged HCL America with violating both the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Hiring must be based on merit — not age or national origin — as the ADEA and Title VII requires,” Christopher Green, district director for EEOC’s San Francisco district office, said in a statement issued Friday. “The EEOC is committed to evenhanded enforcement of anti-discrimination laws and will hold employers accountable when they deny applicants opportunities because of their age or national origin.”
HCL America’s case highlights the need for HR to both train and, when necessary, override managers or clients in employment decisions that violate equal employment laws. Because HR is tasked with applying policies and legal obligations equally across a company, the department must be empowered to investigate, document and escalate when a director or executive displays bad behavior — such as factoring protected characteristics into hiring decisions, two HR consultants recently told HR Dive.
EEOC stressed the importance of training to help prevent such behavior.
“Employers must ensure they are in compliance with federal law and provide training for hiring managers and recruiters to understand their responsibilities to prevent age and national origin discrimination,” Roberta Steele, regional attorney for EEOC’s San Francisco district office, said.
HCL America did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
