BENGALURU: The US Department of Labour has suspended permanent labour certification filings by technology services company Cognizant as federal authorities investigate alleged fraud and possible harm to American workers.
Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito announced the suspension on social media, saying: “Cognizant’s PERM filings are suspended.”
“Threats to American workers will NOT be tolerated. Alongside @WHFraudTF, we’re following facts, fraud and finances. Handcuffs await,” he said.
D’Esposito said his office was working with Labour Department officials and the White House Fraud Task Force. He did not disclose the allegations against Cognizant, the number of filings affected or how long the suspension would last.
The Inspector General also announced the suspension of PERM filings by software company Cloudera. No criminal charges against either company were announced.
PERM, or Permanent Labour Certification, is a key step in the process of sponsoring foreign workers for employment-based green cards. Employers must demonstrate that qualified US workers are not available for the role and that employing a foreign worker will not negatively affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed American workers.
The suspension could delay new green-card sponsorship cases involving Cognizant employees. However, the announcement did not say that existing visa or green-card approvals had been cancelled or that employees with pending applications would lose their cases.
The action came a day after Cognizant announced plans to strengthen its US workforce. The company said it would hire 1,500 American college graduates and expand its Frontier Certified Engineer and Frontier Business Operator workforce to 15,000.
“We are hiring American graduates, standing up new American job categories for the AI era, and putting Cognizant’s capital and leadership behind a national coalition built to make sure this transition works for workers,” Cognizant Chief Executive Officer Ravi Kumar S said.
“We believe AI will create significantly more jobs than it displaces and shift greater value, wages and accountability to the frontlines of America’s workforce,” Kumar said.
Cognizant also joined RAISE US, a bipartisan coalition focused on preparing American workers for the artificial intelligence economy.
The investigation comes amid wider US scrutiny of alleged fraud and abuse involving H-1B visas and employment-based green cards. Authorities have been examining issues including false applications, wage kickbacks, fraudulent recruitment and practices that could disadvantage American workers.
The suspension of PERM filings is separate from the H-1B programme, which allows eligible employers to hire foreign professionals temporarily for speciality occupations.