An Indian-American engineer, who has been working with a missile defence contractor in the US State of Alabama, was reportedly fired last year after speaking to a dying relative in India in the Hindi language, according to a report. The 78-year-old Anil Varshney has filed a federal lawsuit in response against systemic discriminatory actions in Huntsville missile defence contractor Parsons Corporation.
According to PTI, Varshney, a Senior Systems Engineer in the Parsons Corporation, received a video call from his brother-in-law KC Gupta in India, who was on his deathbed and had called to say goodbye.
"Knowing the dire situation and that he may never have the opportunity to speak to (Gupta) again, Varshney stepped into an empty cubicle and accepted the call," said the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also maintained that Varshey made sure there were no classified materials or anything else near him that pertained to the work of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) or Parsons Corporation.
While he was on the call, Varshney was interrupted by a white co-worker who asked whether he was on a video call. The worker then told him that the call was not allowed, following which Varshney immediately hung up.
According to the lawsuit, the co-worker felt intimidated as Varshney spoke in a foreign language, and "falsely and intentionally" reported that the Indian-American engineer had committed a "security violation by revealing confidential information and/or accepting this call during a confidential meeting or with confidential information in the background"
The suit also said that there were no policy prohibiting the call, despite which Varshney was accused of a serious security violation and fired from his job. They also blacklisted the Indian-American from future MDA work, effectively ending his career in MDA and the US government.
After he was informed that his privileges at MDA were revoked, the Parsons supervisor and MDA security personnel instructed him to pack his personal belongings, and searched through every file in his cubicle and through his personal belongings, the suit further said. "Varshney was humiliated and defendants were essentially accusing him of being a spy simply for speaking in a foreign language to a dying family member," it added.
Varshney emigrated to the US in 1968 and settled in Hunstville with his wife, who has worked in NASA since 1989. He was once named as “Contractor of the Year” in systems engineering and received a letter of MDA recommendation “for saving USD 5 million on the ground-based missile defense programme”.
Through the lawsuit, the Indian-American engineer demanded reinstatement to a position “comparable to his former position”, the reinstatement of privileges, and the revocation (or removal) of any disciplinary records in his file. He also sought front pay including benefits he was not reinstated to his job level.
Additionally, he also demanded compensatory damages for “mental anguish and emotional distress”, along with punitive and liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees.
Parsons' response
In response to the lawsuit, the Parsons Corporation on July 24 denied any allegations of wrongdoing or that the plaintiff is entitled to any relief. It sought the suit's dismissal and demanded Varshney to pay the fees of its attorneys, as per reports. There is no comment so far from Parsons representative Birmingham attorney Sharon L Miller.
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