Cloudera agreed to a $2 million federal settlement over alleged hiring discrimination in seven PERM roles, including a 24-month halt to new filings and related recruitment advertising.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the agreement Oct. 16. It provides $1.4 million for claimants the DOJ finds eligible and harmed, and requires Cloudera to pay $600,000 in civil penalties to the U.S. Treasury. The penalty is due within 10 business days after the company receives a fully signed copy of the agreement and fund-transfer instructions.
Oct. 13, when the DOJ signed last, is the agreement’s effective date. The 24-month pause has a separate starting point: Cloudera’s latest withdrawal of a PERM application. The agreement does not state when that withdrawal occurred.
The Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program lets employers seek certification for a permanent job connected to a temporary-visa worker’s path to residency. Employers must recruit U.S. workers and attest that no qualified, available U.S. worker can fill the position.
A DOJ complaint filed April 28, 2026, alleged Cloudera directed applicants for seven positions to an email address that could not receive messages from outside accounts. The complaint said at least one U.S. worker received a delivery failure and alleged the company hired no U.S. workers for the roles. It covered alleged conduct from at least March 31, 2024, through at least Jan. 28, 2025, and claimed Cloudera preferred candidates needing visa sponsorship.
The agreement records the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section’s finding of reasonable cause to believe that applicants following the instructions were not considered. Cloudera maintains it complied with the law and acted without discriminatory intent; it told the agencies it withdrew applications and made changes after learning of a possible email problem. On May 12, 2026, the DOL announced a 180-day suspension of processing for Cloudera’s PERM applications.
Workers seeking back pay must contact the DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) within 180 days of Oct. 13 and provide evidence to support their claim. The agreement requires IER to provide Cloudera with a final claimant list within 260 days.
If Cloudera resumes PERM-related recruitment, it must retain an independent auditor. The auditor’s initial report is due when the company resumes PERM filings, followed by updates every six months during the agreement’s three-year term. Cloudera must also revise recruitment procedures, provide training, take steps to join the U.S. Department of War’s SkillBridge program and accept five service members each year during the agreement.
The DOJ said the settlement was the 14th since it relaunched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025. The agreement requires the parties to file a joint motion to dismiss within 20 days of its effective date.
