Software provider Cloudera is being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division for alleged intentional discrimination against U.S. workers in favor of those with temporary visas.
The case was filed under the Immigration and Nationality Act and was lodged with the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, according to a press release.
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The department detailed allegations that Cloudera, which is co-owned by KKR & Co. Inc (NYSE:KKR) and Clayton Dubilier & Rice, set up a parallel recruiting track that discouraged U.S. applicants and failed to seriously evaluate them for certain positions, the lawsuit stated. The filing also claims the company used an email inbox that blocked messages from outside senders, yet still directed applicants to submit materials through it.
The complaint also noted that a U.S. worker tried to apply using the email account under the permanent labor certification program (PERM), which allows employers to sponsor workers for permanent resident status, only after completing recruitment of U.S. workers, but received a bounce-back notification.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon tied the allegations to the permanent labor certification process and said, “Employers cannot use the PERM sponsorship process as a backdoor for discriminating against U.S. workers.” Dhillon added, “The Division will not hesitate to sue companies who intentionally deter U.S. workers from applying to American jobs.”
The Justice Department is asking the administrative law judge assigned to the case to order Cloudera to cease and desist from alleged illegal practices, order the company to pay an “appropriate civil penalty as determined by the judge, as well as pay back, with interest, each individual who was discriminated against.
This lawsuit is part of the Justice Department’s Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, which focuses on companies that illegally discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of those with temporary employment visas.
Since its reinstatement in 2025, the initiative has produced 10 settlements over the past year.
Cloudera was contacted by Benzinga for comment.
Photo: Shutterstock
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