Cognizant faces legal setback: US court finds company discriminated towards non-Indian workers

A US jury has found Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp guilty of discriminatory conduct toward non-Indian workers and has ordered the IT services provider to pay compensation to affected employees.

The judgement follows a 2017 job-bias class-action lawsuit that alleged the company favoured South Asians in employment decisions. This decision came after the IT company failed to convince a Los Angeles federal judge in September to dismiss the lawsuit, which stemmed from a previous trial that ended with a deadlocked jury.

The case originated from a lawsuit filed by three employees who identified as “Caucasian.” They claimed that Cognizant preferentially hired “visa-ready” people from India while terminating employees who had been “benched” with no work for five weeks. The plaintiffs argued that these workers replaced them in US projects and assignments.

Cognizant expressed disappointment with the verdict and announced plans to appeal against the order.

“We provide equal employment opportunities for all employees and have built a diverse and inclusive workplace that promotes a culture of belonging in which all employees feel valued, are engaged and have the opportunity to develop and succeed,” Cognizant spokesperson Jeff DeMarrais said in a statement.

H1-B visa

In July, Bloomberg reported that the New Jersey-based company was among several outsourcing firms exploiting loopholes in the H1-B visa lottery system. The company maintained that it is fully compliant with US laws on the H1-B visa process and has increased its US hiring while reducing its dependence on the H1-B programme.

Citing Citizenship and Immigration Services, Bloomberg reported that Cognizant had the highest number of H-1B visas of any US employer from 2013 to 2019.

The case is Palmer v Cognizant Tech Solutions Corp, 17-cv-06848, US District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles).

Cognizant posted a 22 per cent rise in consolidated net profit in the June quarter, totalling $566 million.