Several lawsuits have been filed and may seek class action status against the world's largest networking equipment maker alleging racial discrimination against minority job applicants. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims Cisco rejected four African American and one Asian American applicant and therefore demonstrated an ongoing pattern and practice of not hiring qualified minority candidates based on their race, color and national origin.
In seeking class action status, the lawsuit criticizes Cisco's woefully inadequate minority representation and accuses the company of undermining a program it launched in 2004 to boost the recruitment of minority workers.
