Cognizant guilty of underpaying techies
By Bala Shah

Cognizant is one of the great success stories in India.  Cognizant has 61 thousand employees and 40 global delivery centers supporting many of the Fortune 100 companies. BusinessWeek listed it as a Hot Growth and Top 50 Performer.  Fortune magazine says it is one of the ‘Most Admired’ companies.  Cognizant is also guilty of underpaying many employees sent to work in USA.
 
Despite having growing revenues and increasing profits, some sections of Cognizant are still trying to exploit techies to increase revenue and impress the share market. And in the process these managers earn bigger bonuses.  Cognizant Highlights of the Full Year 2008 showed that revenue increased to $2.8 billion, up 32 % from previous year. The fourth quarter of 2008 saw quarterly revenue rise to $753 million, up 26 % from the year-ago quarter.

While its World Head Quarters is in New Jersey, USA, Cognizant is effectively an Indian company with most senior managers hailing from this part of the world.

Now Philly.com is reporting: “The U.S. Department of Labor says a New Jersey-based information technology company has agreed to pay more than a half-million dollars in back wages to workers it hired under a temporary visa program that allows companies to hire foreign-born professionals. The department's Wage and Hour Division says Teaneck-based Cognizant Technology Solutions has agreed to pay the money to 67 computer professionals hired on H-1B visas. The department says the company didn't pay proper wages or offer them equal benefits, and failed to maintain required records.”

Much of the Indian success story can be credited to the intelligence and hard work of the local computing professionals.  A substantial part of the revenue of many Indian tech companies is earned by underpaying Indian techies sent to work in USA and Europe. The salary difference between Indians on working visas in USA and local Americans can be as much as 50 percent.

Cognizant was granted 467 visas last year.  The American company Cognizant applied to import workers on H1B visas from the Indian branch.  Convenient is it not?

(Quite separately, Techgoss had published the following story on Feb 14, 2009)

US Working Visa arrests
By Bala Shah

The United States Government had set up the H-1B visa program to hire on a short term basis highly skilled workers not available in America.  The ground reality is that many tech firms used every loophole in the H-1B system to bring in low cost workers into USA.  The ongoing misuse of the H-1B visas is an open secret in the industry.

When the US economy started stalling late last year, the Government decided to create the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) and pump in hundreds of billions of dollars to stimulate the market.   But there was a chance that some American companies would use the Government handout (in the form of TARP) to save themselves and create jobs in other countries rather than USA.  As American tax payer dollars were involved, powerful Senator Chuck Grassley, ensured that the law would be changed so that TARP funds would only be given to American companies who did not replace their local workers with temporary employees sponsored on H-1B visas.

Essentially,  as the American Government works its way to resolve the financial crisis,  Government funds will mainly be given to companies creating jobs for local tech workers.

Has the US Government now started cracking down on H-1B visa violations when it turned a blind eye in a booming economy last year?

Businessweek is reporting that an ongoing federal probe into H-1B visa fraud lead to 11 arrests and the indictment of IT services firm Vision Systems Group

According to the Businessweek report: “The controversy over the H-1B visa program for highly skilled workers is heating up once again. Federal agents detained 11 people in six states as part of a wide investigation into suspected visa fraud, the U.S. Attorney's office in Iowa announced on Feb. 12, a day after the arrests. Those arrested are accused of fraudulently representing themselves or other workers in immigration documents. The firm, Vision Systems Group,  allegedly used fraudulent documents to bring H-1B visa workers into the U.S. The government is seeking the forfeiture of $7.4 million from Vision Systems that was gained through the alleged offenses. Five other technology companies, including Worldwide Software Services and Sana Systems in Clinton, Iowa, remain under investigation for document fraud.”

Vision Systems, though based in USA,  has a very strong presence in India with offices in Bangladesh and Philippines as well.   Its India, its Offshore Operations are at 1-10-63/2, Chikoti Gardans, Begumpet, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.  There are no allegations of impropriety by any India based employees. 

Vision Systems Group’s Head of Operations, India is Mohammed Wahab.  The company website describes him as: “Mohammed Wahab has been Head of Delivery Operations, India of Vision Systems Group, Inc. since 2006. Mr. Wahab joined Vision Systems in 2005 as Senior Manager, India Sales. Prior to Vision, Mr. Wahab held senior sales management positions with Eureka Forbes, Indotronix and Exponentia InfoSystems. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Osmania University, India.”

Vision Systems, Vice President of Technology, Pradeep Kumar, is also from Osmania University and later did an MBA from Nagarjuna University, India.  The company website describes him as “Pradeep serves as Vice President of Technology of Vision Systems Group, Inc. His professional career spans over 17+ years of Enterprise Application Development and delivery in various capacities across Retail & Distribution, Insurance, Automotive and Pharmaceutical domains. During 1999 to 2005, he worked as a Project Manager at Intelligroup Inc., and was closely associated in delivery & process improvement initiatives to some of the company’s biggest clients including NYSE, Reckitt Benckiser, Armstrong, Timken Steels, Apple Vacations, Hughes Escorts etc,. Prior to Intelligroup, he worked as the Product Architect of Fortune, an ERP product, at Exponentia InfoSystems, India.”

Both Mohammed and Pradeep have not been charged by the US Government of any misconduct.

At this point in time, the American Government has not released any evidence implicating anyone in the offshore centres of India, Bangladesh and Philippines.  But the court case will show if there was any local involvement in this visa fraud.