A Manhattan federal jury on Monday awarded $8.4 million to a New York University professor and former Cognizant Technology Solutions employee who claimed he was fired in retaliation for alleging the information technology company engaged in systematic hiring bias.
. . .
Jean-Claude Franchitti said he was fired in 2016 from a $350,000-a-year job after a decade at New Jersey-based Cognizant. He claimed it was retaliation for asking questions about the company's alleged bias toward hiring workers from India as part of a "cheap labor" profit model.
The award for Franchitti consisted of $4.2 million in back pay, or lost wages, and $4.2 million in punitive damages. The jury declined to award compensation for front pay, or future earnings, or for an emotional distress claim.
The trial revealed a dearth of written communications from Franchitti complaining about Cognizant's alleged strategy to keep a cheap labor pipeline open. His lawyers said Franchitti kept concerns verbal because he knew he was walking a "fine line" and wanted to find fixes diplomatically.
Franchitti is pleased with the verdict, his lawyer, Daniel Kotchen, told Law360 via email.
"The jury sent a strong message that violating employees' rights will not be tolerated," he said.