Cognizant guilty of discrimination against non-Indians, rules US court

Cognizant has been found guilty of discrimination against non-Indian workers by a US jury. The jury found that the IT major engaged in a pattern of discriminatory conduct toward non-Indian workers, demanding it to pay punitive damages to compensate employees who suffered harm. According to a Bloomberg report, the verdict comes after a Los Angeles federal judge rejected the IT firm's attempt to dismiss a 2017 job discrimination class-action lawsuit last month.

The case is Palmer v. Cognizant Tech. Solutions Corp., 17-cv-06848, US District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles). It alleges that the company misused the H-1B visa program, adding that it systematically favored South Asian individuals in its hiring and retention practices.
The case begin after three employees who identify as Caucasian filed a lawsuit against Cognizant. According to the plaintiffs, they were dismissed after a five-week period without assigned work, commonly referred to as "benching." They claim their positions were then filled by workers from India who were prepared to work in the US on visas, ready to be assigned to domestic projects and tasks.
The lawsuit alleges: “Cognizant has used policies and practices related to hiring, promotion, and termination of individuals that have had a disparate impact on the basis of national origin and race (harming those who are not of South Asian race or Indian national origin) that are neither job-related for the positions at issue nor consistent with business necessity."
Cognizant spokesperson Jeff DeMarrais said in an emailed statement that the company is disappointed with the verdict and plans to appeal against the ruling.