By Arun Kumar

Washington, Jan 26 (IANS): Disney World has been hit by two class action suits accusing it and two outsourcing firms of conspiring to replace workers with less costly foreign ones using H-1B visas, mostly from India.

The lawsuits were filed in a Tampa Florida federal court by Leo Perrero and Dena Moore, who were among 250 Disney tech workers laid off from their jobs at Walt Disney World in Orlando in January 2015, according to Orlando Sentinel.

Perrero and Moore said they were told they had 90 days to train their replacements with foreign workers with H-1B visas for high-skilled workers. If they didn't agree, they weren't eligible for bonuses or severance packages.

Defendants include HCL Inc and Cognizant Technologies, two outsourcing companies, known for submitting a high volume of H-1B petitions each year, according to CNN Money.

The Congress has set a quota of 85,000 H-1B visas each year.

"These lawsuits are based on an unsustainable legal theory and are a wholesale misrepresentation of the facts," Disney said in a statement.

The company said it hired more than 100 people back into other roles and offered Moore another position at comparable pay.

Noting that hundreds of employers use H-1B visas, Disney said it complies with all applicable employment laws.

The lawsuits were brought by attorney Sara Blackwell, who also brought the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filings on behalf of former Disney.