The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Cloudera Inc., a data software firm valued at over $5 billion, alleging the company intentionally excluded American workers from high-paying technology roles.
The complaint, filed April 28 by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, claims Cloudera violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against U.S. workers. The company favored individuals with temporary employment visas. The lawsuit is a major component of the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, which focuses on companies that illegally bypass domestic talent.
“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 [that] intentionally deter U.S. workers from applying to American jobs.”
We just sued Cloudera for discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of foreign visa holders for high-paying tech jobs. This is a violation of the Immigration & Nationality Act, & @CivilRights will not hesitate to sue employers for discriminating against U.S. workers! You are…— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) April 28, 2026
Cloudera allegedly instructed U.S. applicants to submit resumes to a dedicated email address—amerijobpostings@cloudera.com—that was intentionally configured to block external messages, resulting in bounce-back errors for American job seekers. Federal law requires employers to recruit U.S. workers in “good faith” before sponsoring a foreign national for permanent residency.
The DOJ contends Cloudera certified to the Department of Labor that it found no qualified U.S. workers, despite intentionally preventing them from applying via the proper email address. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, back pay with interest for affected applicants, and an order for Cloudera to cease these discriminatory practices.
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Source: Black Enterprise
