Bengaluru: Cognizant is being sued by a US employee who is alleging discrimination in the way assignments are handed out in the company and says that his US origin was the reason he was denied promotions despite helping the company win large deals with clients such as Pepsi and Discover Financial.The lawsuit includes an email in which a Cognizant internal recruiter is seen calling for an American as a ‘diversity candidate’ for a project in that country.As Indian companies continue to expand in the US, their legal battles are likely to increase. Lawsuits alleging internal discrimination could harm the ability of these companies to hire and retain talent in their biggest market. In 2018, Cognizant’s US headcount dropped despite strong hiring, as attrition soared, its annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed.“Plaintiff Jeremy Weaver was unable to secure or even be seriously considered for higher-level leadership roles within defendant Cognizant due to preferential treatment and unequal opportunities for advancement that are commonly given to Indian employees,” according to the lawsuit. It said American employees were not considered even if they were equally or better qualified than Indian employees.It lists Papa John’s, Pepsi, Discover Financial, SunTrust and Pizza Hut as clients with whom Weaver won contracts. The lawsuit was filed in February in the Southern District of New York. Cognizant has not yet responded to the suit.“On or about April 13, 2017, plaintiff Jeremy Weaver was approached via email about a potential opportunity only because he was an American… an internal recruiter, with defendant Cognizant, sent this job posting to…Weaver with a discriminatory job description which indicated that a “diversity candidate... an American” was preferred for the role due to “cultural fitment reasons,” the suit states. It adds that the email shows a bias in favour of Indian men and ‘diversity’ candidates were only given roles when it was advantageous or a ‘dire need’ for the company.ET has a copy of the lawsuit and the email. Cognizant declined to comment on this story.