The case pertains to a complaint filed in 2017 by a Washington, DC-based litigation boutique addressing complaints from 2013 when employees said they were discriminated against non-Indian workers. Bloomberg, first reporting the development, stated that some of the employees said they were terminated after the company put them on the bench.
Typically, outsourcing firms put employees “on the bench” when they are temporarily not working on any project but continue to be on the company’s payroll, waiting for next assignment.
“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,” Cognizant said in an emailed statement to ET. Cognizant did not share the number of complaints by employees involved.
The US case began after three employees who identify as “Caucasian” claimed in a lawsuit that Cognizant made a practice of giving preference to South Asians in employment decisions. The plaintiffs alleged they were terminated after being “benched” with no work for five weeks and then replaced by “visa-ready” workers from India set to be deployed to US projects and assignments.
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Cognizant’s legal struggles
Over the past year, the US-headquartered Cognizant has been embroiled in multiple legal battles.
The most recent was in August this year when Cognizant TriZetto, the firm’s healthcare software solutions unit, sued India’s second largest IT services provider Infosys in Texas federal court accusing the latter of stealing trade secrets related to its healthcare insurance software.
Further, around nine months back, Infosys had sent a missive to Cognizant accusing the US-based IT firm of unfair employee poaching.
In July, Cognizant settled months-long court case against another Indian rival Wipro relating to Cognizant’s current chief financial officer (CFO) Jatin Dalal (former CFO of Wipro), and another senior executive. Settling the case filed by Wipro for breach of employment contract, Cognizant agreed to pay Dalal about $0.5 million as settlement payment and reimbursement of his legal fees.
