A mediation effort to forge an out-of-court settlement in whistleblower Jack Palmer’s lawsuit against Indian outsourcing company Infosys Ltd. for alleged violations of U.S. work visa laws has failed.
The case is now set to go to trial Aug. 20.
U.S. district court Judge Myron H. Thompson of Alabama had ordered both sides in the case to attend a conference hearing July 24 to try to settle the lawsuit (I-W, July 27).
Palmer, a principal consultant working at Infosys in Montgomery, Alabama, sued Infosys in Alabama state court earlier this year, alleging the company sought his help to circumvent U.S. visa laws. The lawsuit was later moved to federal court.
“Despite the judge’s earnest attempts to help both parties forge a settlement, the mediation hearing was not successful" Infosys said in a statement. The company has previously denied any wrongdoing.
Palmer alleges Infosys used short-term business visit visas to get around the issuance of expensive and a limited number of work visas meant for high-skilled labor.
He also claims that after he went public with the visa fraud accusations, he was harassed by superiors and co-workers, given no work and denied bonuses, and barred from the company’s computers.
His suit led to a probe by U.S. authorities, including an inquiry by a U.S. Senate subcommittee.