In a win some and lose some situation, the California Civil Rights Department has withdrawn its case against tech giant CISCO alleging caste discrimination against two Indian American supervisors of CISCO, identified as Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella. However, the litigation against the Silicon Valley Company will continue.
While a Santa Clara court dismissed the case last week, the department accused Iyer and Kompella of discriminating and harassing a Dalit employee. The department said that for the sake of the people of California, it would remain committed to “securing relief and ensuring company-wide corrective actions.”
A mediation meeting between CISCO and California Civil Rights Department, has been set for May 2.
The Dalit engineer was alleged to have been paid less and given fewer opportunities, though CISCO has maintained a no-comments stand. The lawsuit by the department has got groups like Oakland, California-based Equality Labs.
However, opinions were diverse in the state, with some Hindu groups saying that the state must not attribute wrongdoing based on caste and ethnicity. Others felt that the California Civil Rights Department did the right thing by bringing forth the ‘Dalit’ issue to the fore.
