Overworked engineer from India told he’s ‘genetically built’ for it, NC lawsuit says
A mattress company overworked its engineer until until he was referred to a psychiatrist, forced to take medical leave and then fired, according to a lawsuit filed in North Carolina.
All because his boss said “Indian people” were used to doing extra work, the suit states.
“(His supervisor) disregarded plaintiff’s concerns and directed plaintiff to continue performing dual jobs based on the imprudent and nonsensical belief that ‘Indian people’ are somehow genetically built to perform two jobs,” according to the complaint.
Now Ajit “Bobby” Sood, who is from India, is suing Tempur Sealy International Inc. for discrimination on the basis of national origin and disability.
Counsel for Sood declined to comment.
But Rick Maynard, a spokesperson for Tempur Sealy, said the mattress company is “committed to employment practices that are free of discrimination and in compliance with all applicable laws.” He otherwise declined to comment, citing company policy.
According to the suit, 51-year-old Sood was born and raised in India. He later became a naturalized citizen of the U.S. and now lives in Forsyth County.
Sood has been a mechanical engineer for 29 years, during which time his attorney said in the complaint he’s “never suffered such hostility, discrimination, retaliation and ridicule as he suffered during his employment with Sealy.”
Sood was hired as a senior product engineer in 2016 but assumed the secondary responsibilities of a retired senior quality engineer in 2018, according to the complaint.
His supervisor based the decision on “improper stereotypes and, astonishingly, freely admitted it,” the suit states.
“(He) told the plaintiff that ‘Indian people’ are accustomed to doing several jobs and, because the plaintiff was Indian and a senior (older), he would have to perform dual jobs,” according to the complaint.
But the workload took a toll on Sood’s health, and his doctor continually requested in notes to Temper Sealy that it be reduced, the complaint states. It was not.
Instead, Sood was reportedly required in one instance to unload a truck of mattresses “contaminated by substances including blood, urine, mold, and dirt,” after which he had to get a tetanus shot, his attorney said in the suit.
Sood — whose nickname is Bobby — was also repeatedly called “KaBob” or “KaBobby” by his supervisor, who suggested he open a restaurant named “KaBobby,” according to the complaint.
His attorney said these instances of name-calling were “distasteful references to the Indian food Kebab.”
The supervisors behind those remarks were sent to “three months of training regarding workplace propriety” in February 2019, the suit states. But the harassment reportedly continued, and Sood filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in March.
The following day, an attorney for Sood said a supervisor put him on a “Performance Improvement Plan.”
Sood was eventually “referred to a psychiatrist for sleeplessness, loss of appetite, adjustment disorder and anxiety,” the suit states. He was released from work from March to June 2019.
According to the complaint, Tempur Sealy fired Sood less than three weeks after he returned on a restricted basis.
Sood makes claims for discrimination based on race and national origin, retaliation and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, among others. He’s seeking compensatory damages, back and front pay, damages for loss of reputation, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.
