Mumbai, April 3: A US court has allowed two former employees of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to go ahead with a class action suit against the country’s largest software exporter for forcing them to sign over tax refunds they had received from America’s tax authorities.

US district court judge Claudia Wilken granted the lawsuit a class action status in which the two disgruntled employees — Gopi Vedachalam and Kangana Beri — have also alleged that the software maker made unauthorised deductions from their salaries.

A class action lawsuit is one in which one or more persons sue on behalf of a larger group.

TCS denied these allegations and said in a statement: “This is an order only on one procedural matter and does not address the merits of this case.”

“We continue to believe that, when this matter concludes, the court will find that the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit,” the statement added.

An agency report quoted Kelly Dermondy, an attorney for the employers, as saying, “More than 10,000 current and former Indian nationals working for the Tatas in America may now have their day in court.”

Another report said the judge authorised one national class of plaintiffs, comprising non-US citizens who worked in TCS, to pursue a violation in contract, while the court allowed a separate class of employees to bring claims under California labour laws.

According to reports, Vedachalam, in a statement issued by his attorney, said, “I am very happy with the court’s decision today. It means that my former colleagues and I are one step closer to holding Tata accountable.”

The TCS share closed 1 per cent lower on the BSE on Tuesday at Rs 1,178.95.