CAIR-Chicago, CAIR-NJ Call on New Jersey AG to Probe Tech Firm’s Religious Discrimination
PRESS RELEASE
**FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION**
CAIR-Chicago, CAIR-NJ Call on New Jersey AG to Probe Tech Firm’s Religious Discrimination, Call for Diversity and Inclusion Audit at Company
(CHICAGO, IL, 11/27/20) – The Chicago and New Jersey chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago and CAIR-NJ) today called on the New Jersey attorney general’s office to investigate alleged religious discrimination at Nityo Infotech.
They also called for a diversity, equity and inclusion audit from Nityo Infotech, a global IT and outsourcing company headquartered in New Jersey and operating all over the world.
Earlier this week, multiple CAIR Offices received complaints of alleged discriminatory recruitment behavior by Nityo Infotech, a global IT company. According to the complaint, a screenshot of a recruitment email sent from a Nityo.net email domain stated: “Please do not submit Muslim candidates for below position.”
CAIR reached out to Nityo Infotech representatives who immediately claimed that the recruiter’s email account in question was hacked. An internal preliminary investigation by Nityo completed 24 hours later reaffirmed the hacking claim. Both of the company’s claims contradict an earlier email admitting error on part of the recruiter.
CAIR-Chicago and CAIR-NJ directors expressed concern about Nityo Infotech’s response and process, particularly after being made aware of discrimination lawsuits — both pending and potential — involving other companies and IT recruiters in various cities including one company with alleged ties to Nityo Infotech.
In a statement, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said:
“’I was hacked’ is a typical response to being caught red-handed after hitting send. While it might be understandable that a company’s first reaction when presented with scandal is to save face, it is neither respectable nor acceptable. Instead, discriminatory practices must be acknowledged, confronted and weeded out completely. This email evidence must be properly investigated all the way to the top of the culture, preferably by a third party, and foundational fixes must be made to the problem if the company truly takes the scourge of blatant workplace discrimination with a degree of seriousness.“
“This language brings back particularly painful memories. It was used against African-Americans, Native Americans, as well as Italians, Irish, and Catholic immigrants, against Jews in early Nazi Germany, and against Blacks in Apartheid South Africa. And today it is rearing its ugly head in India. We simply will not allow any group to have to succumb to the ‘need not apply’ blatant bigotry of yesteryear. Not in India, and certainly not in the US as a BJP import (India ruling party).”
In a statement, CAIR-NJ Executive Director Selaedin Maksut said:
“We are calling for Nityo Infotech to conduct a comprehensive third-party diversity, equity, and inclusion audit. The results of this audit should be made public. In search of more answers, we call on the New Jersey attorney general’s office to investigate Nityo Infotech’s company culture and behavior toward Muslims and other minorities. Religious discrimination against Muslims in the IT sector is a growing concern particularly from India-based companies. We continue to urge Muslim candidates who applied to the company and were rejected to contact our CAIR New Jersey office as we continue to investigate the reoccurring issues of workplace discrimination against Muslims in the IT industry.”
“From India to the United States, Islamophobia is exported by far-right wing Hindutva nationalists who have turned New Jersey into a second home for RSS and BJP fanaticism. Islamophobia has once again proven to be a global crisis. Our local and federal governments must take this global crisis seriously if we as the United States wish to mend the wounds America and its impacted communities, particularly people of color and religious minorities, sustained in the past four years.”
CAIR-Chicago is the Chicago Chapter of America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization with a mission to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote tolerance.
-END-
CONTACT: CAIR-NJ Executive Director Selaedin Maksut, 862-264-9414, smaksut@cair.com; CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab, 202-870-0166, arehab@cair.com