Cognizant favoured H-1B holders over non-Indian workers

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.