An Alabama engineer says a major defense contractor fired him for speaking Hindi

An engineer in Huntsville, Ala. is suing the defense contractor Parsons Corporation for discrimination, arguing he was fired for speaking his native Hindi language at work.

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

An engineer in Huntsville, Ala., is suing a major defense contractor, arguing he was fired after speaking his native Hindi language on the job. His lawsuit has drawn the support of a high-powered former federal prosecutor, as NPR’s Debbie Elliott reports.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: Anil Varshney worked for decades as a systems engineer in the missile defense industry until one day, when he answered a video phone call from his dying brother-in-law in India.

ANIL VARSHNEY: And we talked in Hindi, my native language, for less than two minutes. And next thing I know, then I was fired.

ELLIOTT: The defense contractor, Parsons Corporation, had a security guard escort him out of the building.

VARSHNEY: Oh, it was the most embarrassing time of my life. I said, after 32 years of dedicated, loyal work for this missile – and I was so proud of working here.

ELLIOTT: Varshney, who is 78, has filed a federal lawsuit against Parsons and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, alleging discrimination based on race, color, national origin and age. He says there had been a pattern of mistreatment that singled him out because of his nationality.

VARSHNEY: I was called the thing. They will interrupt me like what I say doesn’t mean too much. So these kinds of behavior – you know, you finally become numb to them.

ELLIOTT: Varshney is a naturalized U.S. citizen and raised his family in Huntsville. The North Alabama city is a hub for the defense and space industries. He says despite the work environment, he never filed a formal complaint with the Parsons Corporation, worried that he could be labeled a problem employee. The Virginia-based firm says that’s an issue, that Varshney’s allegations of discrimination had never been raised internally and are…