The multinational technology consulting company, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, will pay the settlement amount to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in August 2024. According to the suit, HCL America rejected the qualified applicant for a sales director position in July 2021, with company emails stating he was "too old" and directing recruiters to "explore diverse candidates."
The EEOC alleged that HCL categorized candidates as "diverse" if they were non-Indian, female, or both, and was willing to dispense with relevant qualifications including sales or IT experience depending on the candidate's demographics. In subsequent email exchanges with recruiters, the company reiterated requests for diverse candidates and discussed goals to identify candidates based on gender and ethnicity, ultimately hiring a younger, non-Indian candidate for the position.
Under the two-year consent decree approved by the court on April 2, 2026, HCL America must work with a third-party consultant to review and revise its policies concerning age and national origin discrimination. The company will also provide training to recruitment personnel, managers and supervisors on federal anti-discrimination requirements.
The EEOC charged HCL with violating both the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, filing suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California after unsuccessful pre-litigation conciliation attempts.
"This suit illustrates how discriminatory hiring in the name of achieving diversity can harm any applicant," said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. "The EEOC will continue to act to stop employers from unlawfully hiring based on protected characteristics."
"Hiring must be based on merit — not age or national origin — as the ADEA and Title VII requires," said Christopher Green, district director for the EEOC's San Francisco District Office.
"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," said Roberta L. Steele, regional attorney for the EEOC's San Francisco District Office.