California-based data management firm Cloudera agreed to a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Labor following allegations the company discriminated against qualified U.S. workers while filing for Green Cards for foreign workers.
The Department of Labor also said the company has been barred from participating in the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program for two years.
The DOJ announced a fine of $1.4 million against Cloudera for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), according to a release. “Cloudera will establish a back-pay fund of $1.4 million to compensate qualified U.S. workers who tried to apply for the jobs at issue but were not given fair consideration. Cloudera will also pay $600,000 in civil penalties to the United States,” the department said.
READ: Microsoft faces PERM suspension over H-1B allegations (October 8, 2026)
“As part of the resolution, Cloudera will be barred from participating in the PERM program for two years, one of the most significant sanctions available for DOL to protect the integrity of the employment-based immigration system and safeguard opportunities for US workers. The debarment follows DOL’s earlier suspension of Cloudera’s PERM processing and reflects DOL’s commitment to aggressively enforcing labor certification requirements when employers fail to provide US workers a fair opportunity to compete for jobs,” the statement added.
Cloudera will also be subject to compliance obligations designed to ensure future adherence to federal labor and anti-discrimination laws, in addition to being barred from PERM for two years.
Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said, “There are no exceptions,” and added, “This substantial settlement, in partnership with DOL, sends a strong signal to employers that the federal government will work together to ensure employers treat U.S. workers fairly.”
A Cloudera spokesperson said the company took corrective action immediately after learning that an email address used in its recruitment process was limited to internal employees. “Cloudera does not discriminate against anyone in making hiring decisions, and we remain firmly committed to fair, lawful, and open recruitment practices,” the spokesperson said.
READ: Cognizant hit with PERM suspension as US investigates H-1B, Green Card fraud (September 9, 2026)
PERM is a key step in the employer-sponsored green card process. It generally requires employers to demonstrate that there are not enough qualified, available U.S. workers for the position and that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed American workers.
Recently, the Trump administration suspended eight major technology and IT services companies. The companies affected are Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCLTech and Capgemini.