New York, NY, March 30, 2026 – A jury unanimously found after a week-long trial that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation and its U.S. subsidiary, Cognizant Technology Solutions U.S. Corporation, unlawfully retaliated against Jean-Claude Franchitti, a former Assistant Vice President and current New York University computer science professor, for his complaints about race and national origin discrimination. The jury awarded Dr. Franchitti $8.4 million in damages, consisting of $4.2 million in compensatory damages and $4.2 million in punitive damages. Kotchen & Low LLP represents Dr. Franchitti.
Cognizant fired Dr. Franchitti on July 19, 2016. At trial, Dr. Franchitti presented evidence that, in the eighteen months preceding his termination, he repeatedly complained to Cognizant about its use of the H-1B visa program as a tool of discrimination, namely that the visa program was used to source cheap Indian labor and to displace higher-cost Americans in American jobs. Before his complaints of discrimination, Dr. Franchitti was a well-respected, high performer at Cognizant. Yet after he complained, Dr. Franchitti’s work life grew particularly hostile, culminating in his termination.
The jury trial win is Kotchen & Low’s third discrimination-related victory over Cognizant in the last eighteen months. Descriptions of the other two victories can be found here and here.
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