Infosys cleared of visa violations charge by US Department of Labor

BENGALURU: Infosys said on Tuesday that the US department of labor had cleared the company of charges of visa violations, months after the US government launched an investigation into an outsourcing contract involving utility firm Southern California Edison and Indian software exporters TCS and Infosys.

India's second largest outsourcing firm Infosys said that the US department of labor had concluded its investigation into labor condition applications filed in the Southern California Edison outsourcing contract and found no visa violations, after reviewing over 145 files.

"Infosys continues to actively recruit and hire talent in the U.S., but while there is a shortage of technology skills, Infosys is a responsible participant in the H-1B program. We do not practice or condone unfair or unethical H-1B visa practices. Our key priority is to operate fairly, ethically and with integrity, which is good business and what our clients expect." Sandeep Dadlani, EVP and Head of Americas at Infosys said in the statement.

Southern California Edison had laid off about 500 workers, beginning August last year, and replaced them with H-1B visa holders from TCS and Infosys. The move triggered an uproar in the US, leading the US government to investigate whether TCS and Infosys had violated any labor laws -- a charge that both companies had vehemently denied in June.

Experts said the politically charged debate on outsourcing is bound to heat up over the coming months with the US elections on the horizon.

ET had reported in June that other outsourcing contracts signed with the likes of Walt Disney and Fossil had also come under the scrutiny of the US government.

"We are proud of our robust immigration compliance program and very pleased to receive this positive determination of verification from the DOL of our technical and substantive compliance. Infosys is happy to cooperate with any future government agency inquiries to continue to demonstrate our commitment to compliance." said David Kennedy, EVP, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer.