The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department says it filed an administrative complaint with the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer on April 28 against Cloudera Inc., accusing the Santa Clara, California, technology company of violating the Immigration and Nationality Act by steering some lucrative jobs toward workers with temporary visas and away from U.S. applicants. The filing was made in an administrative forum, not federal court. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/civil-rights-division-sues-cloudera-excluding-us-workers-applying-high-paying-technology))

According to DOJ, Cloudera set up a separate recruitment process for jobs it intended to fill through the permanent labor certification program, or PERM, and then directed applicants to use an email account that did not accept outside messages. The department says one U.S. worker who tried to apply got a bounce-back notice. DOJ also alleges the company did not recruit U.S. workers in good faith when it sought certification for current employees. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/civil-rights-division-sues-cloudera-excluding-us-workers-applying-high-paying-technology))

The department said the case falls under its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, which it says was relaunched in 2025 and has already produced ten settlements in the last year. DOJ says the initiative targets companies it believes unlawfully favor workers with temporary employment visas over U.S. workers. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/civil-rights-division-sues-cloudera-excluding-us-workers-applying-high-paying-technology))

OCAHO is the Justice Department tribunal that hears certain immigration-related employment cases, including matters under the INA. DOJ says that is the venue for this complaint as it pursues the case against Cloudera. Any liability will depend on what the administrative judge does next, not on the filing alone. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/eoir/ocaho-frequently-asked-questions))