The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Cloudera, accusing the California-based tech firm of unlawfully discriminating against American workers in its hiring practices.
According to the complaint, the department alleges that Cloudera created a separate recruitment process designed to deter U.S. applicants from applying for high-paying technology roles. These positions were allegedly earmarked for candidates holding temporary employment visas, in violation of provisions under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The lawsuit further claims that the company set up an internal email account that could not receive external messages, yet instructed applicants to use it for job applications—effectively blocking U.S. candidates from applying. The case was filed with the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, which handles cases related to immigration-related employment discrimination.
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division stated that Cloudera also failed to properly recruit U.S. workers while sponsoring foreign employees under the PERM (Permanent Labor Certification) program. This program requires employers to demonstrate that no qualified U.S. workers are available before hiring foreign nationals for permanent roles.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said employers cannot misuse the PERM process to bypass American workers. “The Division will not hesitate to sue companies that intentionally deter U.S. workers from applying to American jobs,” she said.
The case forms part of the DOJ’s “Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative,” relaunched in 2025, which targets companies accused of favoring temporary visa holders over domestic applicants. The initiative has already resulted in multiple settlements over the past year.
Cloudera, a data and analytics software company, was acquired in 2021 by private equity firms KKR and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in a deal valued at approximately $5.3 billion and is no longer publicly traded.
