Florida governor speaks tough on Cognizant over H-1B hiring bias case; NYU professor wins $8.4M

A former Cognizant employee won $8.4 million in a lawsuit accusing Cognizant of hiring bias, arguing that the company only favored Indians and fired Americans.

A former Cognizant Technology Solutions employee who was fired in 2016 after 10 years with the company took the company to court, accusing it of hiring bias. Jean-Claude Franchitti said he was fired after he questioned the IT major’s cheap labor model after observing that the company preferred cheap labor from India. In 2016, he was fired from his position, which paid $350,000 a year. A federal jury in Manhattan sided with Franchitti, awarding Humm $8.4 million, including $4.2 million in back pay for lost wages and another $4.2 million in punitive damages. Franchitti now teaches at New York University.Franchitti said he signed numerous letters that Cognizant deceived into helping Indians obtain U.S. visas. The letters confirmed that employees in Cognizant’s New Jersey office would report directly to him, but he soon realized that the positions listed in the letters did not exist and that the employees would not be working under his supervision. He also claimed that Cognizant used to apply for L-1 and B-1 visas because H-1B was more expensive. And those who were fired from H-1B did not receive the required wages.He claimed that non-Indians were promoted less frequently and faced hostility from Indian employees.When he verbally challenged these practices, he claimed he was fired or benched without prior notice. Cognizant rejected the accusations. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reacted to the verdict and said he was pleased Cognizant was being held accountable. “It’s really troubling that these companies are discriminating against Americans in order to attract cheap foreign labor,” DeSantis said. “It would be nice to see some accountability. But the easiest way to do that is to end visas that provide a path to discrimination.”