Indian Muslim Worker in U.S. Sues Accenture For Bias

By Little India Desk | November 3, 2017

A Muslim Indian man Mohammed Ali has filed a case against Accenture in the United States, alleging that he was paid lower salary and demoted because of his race and religion. He also said that he wasn’t given his annual bonus by the consultancy firm.

According to Ali’s complaint, which was filed last week, he regularly exceeded annual sales targets assigned to him, except for the year 2015. The complaint states that he was given a $50 million sales target while his colleagues had targets set at $30 million. Ali said his white manager, who knew he was a practicing Muslim, said to him that he “wasn’t going to be like Bernie Sanders and give handouts” and that he agreed with all of Trump’s views. These statements were allegedly made when Trump was calling for a ban on Muslim immigration, Bloomberg reported.

The lawsuit filed in Houston federal court claimed that the company “shorted” him on other deals “so as to falsely deflate” his sales production for the year. The complaint went on to state that he was demoted shortly. The discrimination caused Ali significant economic harm, in neighborhood of “seven figures.”

Accenture issued a statement saying it’s committed to “inclusion and diversity” and that “no one should be discriminated against because of their differences”. Company spokeswoman Stacey Jones said Ali’s claims “are without merit”. Ali’s attorney refused to comment on the case, the report added.

This is not the first such case filed against Accenture. Last year, the company was sued by an Indian employee Elton Kent who said that he and hundreds of workers like him who were part of the company’s Global Careers Program were discriminated against. The complaint alleged that he was paid less than his American counterparts and received fewer benefits. The case was settled by Accenture for $500,000. The company neither admitted nor denied the charges leveled against it.