- California-based data management firm Cloudera reached a settlement with the US Departments of Justice and Labor on October 16, 2026, over discrimination against American job applicants
- Cloudera allegedly set up a broken email address to block US workers from applying to seven high-paying tech positions it had reserved for foreign nationals
- The company faces a two-year ban from the PERM green card sponsorship programme and must pay KSh 260 million (USD 2 million) in penalties and back pay
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A California-based data management firm has been barred from sponsoring foreign workers for green cards for two years and ordered to pay KSh 260 million (USD 2 million) after federal investigators found it had deliberately excluded American candidates from jobs earmarked for foreign nationals.
Source: UGC
The settlement between Cloudera Inc. and the US Departments of Justice and Labor, announced on October 16, 2026, resolves a lawsuit filed in April alleging the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Authorities found Cloudera manipulated the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) process, the mandatory first step employers must complete before sponsoring a foreign worker for an employment-based green card.
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How Cloudera blocked US applicants
The investigation focused on seven high-paying technology roles the company sought to fill through the PERM programme.
Investigators established that Cloudera created an email address specifically for job applications but configured it to reject all messages sent from outside the organisation. Prospective American applicants were directed to use that non-functional address, ensuring their applications never reached the company.
One US worker who attempted to apply received a bounce-back notification, which ultimately triggered the discrimination complaint that landed before the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
"Employers cannot use the PERM sponsorship process as a backdoor for discriminating against U.S. workers," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. "The Division will not hesitate to sue companies who intentionally deter U.S. workers from applying to American jobs."
Settlement terms and penalties
Of the total USD 2 million (about KSh 260 million) owed, USD 1.4 million will fund a back-pay pool for American workers who tried to apply for the seven positions but were unfairly blocked, while the remaining USD 600,000 goes to the government as civil penalties.
Beyond the financial sanctions, Cloudera is subject to a two-year debarment from the PERM programme, meaning the company cannot file new labour certification applications for foreign workers seeking green cards until October 2028.
The firm must also comply with enhanced monitoring, revised compliance procedures, and mandatory reporting requirements.
The settlement is the fourteenth secured under the Justice Department's Protecting US Workers Initiative, which was relaunched in 2025 to crack down on employers found to favour temporary visa holders over American workers.
"There are no exceptions: the Justice Department will hold accountable employers who discriminate against U.S. workers. 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," Dhillon added.
The debarment follows an earlier enforcement action in May 2026, when the Department of Labor suspended processing of all PERM applications filed by or on behalf of Cloudera for 180 days, after evidence showed the company had falsely certified that no qualified US workers were available.
US suspends green card sponsorship for 8 tech companies
The ban on Cloudera comes against the backdrop of a recent decision to suspend 8 companies from the programme.
Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that the United States government suspended Microsoft and seven other technology companies from the Green Card sponsorship programme amid investigations into suspected visa fraud.
Source: Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance announced on October 8, 2026, that Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini were also affected, citing Microsoft’s reported layoffs of approximately 6,000 American employees alongside applications for about 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards for foreign nationals.
The Labor Department halted new applications and the processing of pending cases from the companies while investigations continue into allegations that employers bypassed qualified American workers through the sponsorship system.
Separately, nine universities, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, were placed under scrutiny over claims that international student recruitment had suppressed American wages, with Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito confirming that subpoenas had been issued as part of the inquiry.
Source: TUKO.co.ke