“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,” the statement said. “Cognizant does not tolerate discrimination and takes such claims seriously. Christy Palmer v. Cognizant was initially filed in 2017 and addresses plaintiffs’ claims dating back to 2013.”
That last line is interesting, insofar as it suggests that Cognizant is arguing that this all happened 11 years ago, which is a lifetime in IT circles.
The overall issue is not unusual, in that many IT outsourcing and consulting firms have found that Indian workers tend to accept much lower compensation and are more tolerant of a lack of work-life balance than some other nationalities. Another global outsourcing firm, who wanted to remain unidentified, said that it has been able to hire talent from India at roughly one-tenth the compensation required for their US counterparts.