A recent jury verdict has found that Cognizant, a major provider of tech talent to companies in Silicon Valley and the wider Bay Area, intentionally discriminated against non-Indian employees. Reports from the Mercury News indicate that the jury identified ample evidence supporting the claims against the New Jersey-based firm, which originated in Chennai, India.

Cognizant has a heavy reliance on the H-1B visa program, which is designed to attract skilled workers, facilitating the influx of high-level talent into the tech sector. Many companies in Silicon Valley leverage this visa program for staffing, often turning to Cognizant and similar firms to fill lower-tier positions. Currently, the tech industry is actively lobbying to raise the annual cap on H-1B visas to over 85,000.

The lawsuit, filed in 2017 in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, was initiated by three American-born plaintiffs: Vartan Piroumian from California, Christy Palmer from Arizona, and Edward Cox from Texas. They were later joined by Jean-Claude Franchitti, a green card holder from France. The plaintiffs allege that Cognizant systematically marginalized non-Indian employees, leaving them without tasks until they were ultimately dismissed according to company policy.

In the wake of the ruling, Cognizant expressed disappointment on Monday and announced intentions to appeal the decision.

Ron Hira, a professor at Howard University who specializes in the H-1B visa program, pointed out that Cognizant processes hundreds of H-1B applications annually, allowing Indian nationals to work in the Bay Area. Data from 2023 shows that Cognizant has facilitated H-1B visas for major employers including Google, Meta, Apple, PG&E, Kaiser Permanente, and Walmart.

According to the Bay Area Council, nearly 60,000 foreign nationals with H-1B visas were authorized to work for regional companies in 2019, with a large majority from India.

The lawsuit alleges that Cognizant’s favoritism towards Indian workers drove the company to apply for as many visas as possible, including requests tied to fictitious job offers. Hira noted that H-1B regulations stipulate that companies must have legitimate job openings to support visa applications.

Franchitti, who earned a PhD in computer science, began his tenure at Cognizant in 2007. During his nine-year career as a director and executive, he noted a distinct bias favoring visa-holding Indian employees. He claimed he was terminated in 2016 after repeatedly raising concerns about being pressured to sign off on hundreds of fraudulent invitations designed to bolster H-1B visa applications for nonexistent jobs.

The lawsuit argues that these fraudulent invitations were part of a broader strategy by Cognizant to secure a large number of H-1B visas, effectively creating a “robust stock” of Indian nationals for placement in U.S. companies. The jury has recommended that the court impose punitive damages on Cognizant.