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December 05, 2023 at 02:47 PM
What You Need to Know
- The Indian project manager says Schwab failed to accommodate his religiously required vegan diet.
- He contends he was removed from a project after taking an FMLA leave to care for his ailing mother.
- Schwab fired him under a false pretext, he alleges.
A former Charles Schwab senior project manager of Indian descent has sued the firm, alleging he was discriminated against and fired based on his race, religion, national origin, sex and disability.
Dipesh Mehta, a Texas resident who describes himself as Indian and, as an adherent of the Jain religion, a vegan, contends in the lawsuit in Texas District Court that throughout his time at Schwab, he “was frequently left out of company luncheons and celebrations because there were no vegan options, and his religion requires a vegan diet.”
Schwab was made aware of his diet “but did practically nothing to accommodate his needs,” according to the suit. “Mehta also witnessed other ethnic-Indian employees leave (Schwab’s) employ due to harassment and discrimination.
“It was generally observed by Mehta and others similarly situated that white employees were treated better and with more respect. Providing vegan options at company events would not have been an undue burden,” the complaint contends.
The alleged discrimination extended beyond his vegan diet, according to the lawsuit, filed Friday, which contends he was treated less favorably than white, U.S. national employees and female employees in other respects.
The complaint notes Mehta started working at Schwab in late 2018 and in his latest role was responsible for projects valued from $1 million to $15 million and managed project teams of 5 to 20 people across various locations. The suit indicates he wasn’t involved with investments at the firm.
In June and July 2019, he took medical leave to treat his arm for repetitive computer use and “was retaliated against for requesting this accommodation by receiving a ‘coaching memo’ the following January, according to the suit. Mehta was given a performance review of “meeting expectations inconsistently” as a result of the time off, and was denied his 2019 bonus, it says.
Mehta was issued a “written performance warning” again in May 2020 with the same topics covered in a “coaching memo,” including poor communication style, and denied another bonus, he contends.
Feeling he was being discriminated against, Mehta complained to a vice president “but no action was taken against his white managers,” he contends. Instead, Mehta “was lectured about accepting the feedback as a ‘gift.’”
Mehta didn’t need time off the following two years, and received a “met expectations” rating for his 2020 and 2021 employment years and received bonuses both years, according to the lawsuit. Going into 2022, he ranked as “exceeding expectations” and his managers indicated he was on track to get a bonus the following year, the complaint says.
In summer 2022, however, Mehta wanted to apply for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to return to India to care for his ailing mother, who was a heart patient and was believed to have suffered a stroke.
