The judge on the case ruled that the company, Compubahn, should pay US $215,000 in legal fees to the programmer, Dipen Joshi, a 33-year-old who hails from Gujarat. The same judge had earlier ruled that the penalty clauses in Mr Joshi's contract violated Californian laws against the exploitation of workers.

Mr Joshi sued Compubahn, a technology recruitment agency, for having restrictive clauses in its contract. His contract required that he pay US $25,000 and incur other penalties if he quit his company before the contract ended. Mr Joshi said that Compubahn had asked him to pay nearly US $80,000 in penalties for quitting his job and moving to Oracle.

Attorney Michael Pupac was quoted as saying, "The Constitution of the United States forbids slavery, and that's what a lot of these agreements amount to."

Mr Joshi's path-breaking victory now opens up the way for foreign workers to sue employers who make them work under exploitative contracts.

- nriol.com report

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