Cognizant faces US suspension of PERM applications
Hyderabad : The US government has suspended permanent labour certification for Cognizant and stopped accepting PERM applications from the IT major amid an investigation into alleged visa fraud.
The move is likely to affect the hiring of foreign workers at Cognizant’s offices in the US, with Indian workers among those expected to be affected. The US government has taken similar action against Cloudera.
US has not disclosed scale of impact
It is not clear how many people will be affected by the decision. The US Department of Labor has not disclosed details of the allegations against the two companies or specified how many PERM applications would be affected.
It has also not said how long the suspension will remain in force. Cognizant has not yet responded to the development.
Anthony P. D’Esposito, inspector general of the US Department of Labor, said the government would not tolerate threats to American workers. He said the department was investigating the two companies along with the White House fraud task force and other officials.
D’Esposito said Cognizant’s PERM applications had been suspended. Investigators are examining facts, possible fraud and financial aspects of the cases, he said.
What is the PERM programme?
PERM stands for Programme Electronic Review Management. It is a US Department of Labor programme under which employers must obtain certification after establishing that no qualified US worker is available for a particular job.
The certification allows companies to hire foreign workers for those positions. Employers must also establish that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect wages or working conditions.
Indian workers could be affected
Cognizant was founded in Chennai in 1994 and is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey. It is among the largest companies hiring foreign workers in the US.
As of June 30 this year, 3,510 Cognizant employees had received H-1B visas, according to the copy. In 2020, 9,413 employees of the company received H-1B visas. A majority of them were Indians.
The suspension came a day after Cognizant announced plans to expand its US operations and hire 1,500 graduates.
Cognizant is currently headed by CEO Ravi Kumar S.
