A US district court has found Cognizant Technology Solutions guilty of discrimination against non-Indian employees, stating that the company’s conduct meets the criteria for punitive damages. This verdict comes from a class-action lawsuit filed nearly a decade ago by a litigation boutique on behalf of employees who alleged discrimination based on their race and nationality.
The lawsuit claimed that Cognizant engaged in a pattern of discriminatory behaviour favouring South Asian and Indian-origin workers over others. Some non-Indian employees reported being terminated after being placed “on the bench”, a term used in the IT industry to describe workers temporarily without a project but still on the payroll while awaiting their next assignment.
The plaintiffs proved that Cognizant had engaged in intentional discrimination, specifically targeting non-South Asian and non-Indian employees for termination when they were benched. The court also noted that these actions justified the awarding of punitive damages to the affected employees.
The lawsuit also accused Cognizant of misusing the H-1B visa process, widely used by IT companies to bring highly skilled foreign workers to the US for specialised jobs. The majority of these visas are granted to Indian nationals.
The plaintiffs argued that Cognizant’s hiring, promotion and termination practices had a disproportionate impact on employees who were neither of South Asian race nor Indian national origin. The court found that these practices were not relevant to the job positions in question and were not consistent with business necessity. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Cognizant had the highest number of H-1B visas of any US employer from 2013-2019.
“Cognizant is disappointed with the verdict and plans to vigorously defend itself and appeal at the appropriate time. 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 does not tolerate discrimination and takes such claims seriously. Christy Palmer v. Cognizant was initially filed in 2017 and addresses plaintiffs’ claims dating back to 2013,” the company said in a statement.