Cloudera settlement sets $600,000 penalty, up to $1.4M in back pay

Cloudera must pay a $600,000 civil penalty and create a separate back-pay fund of up to $1.4 million under a federal settlement over its recruitment for PERM positions. The agreement also requires changes to the company’s recruitment practices and bars it from filing PERM applications or advertising PERM recruitment for 24 months.

The Justice Department finalized the agreement on Oct. 13, 2026, and announced it with the Labor Department on Oct. 16. It resolves DOJ’s administrative case alleging citizenship-status discrimination and the Labor Department’s earlier suspension of Cloudera’s PERM processing. The settlement is not a decision on the merits of the allegations. Cloudera denies them and says it acted without discriminatory intent.

DOJ’s complaint, filed April 28, 2026, alleged that Cloudera failed to consider U.S. workers while recruiting for seven PERM positions. The agreement records DOJ’s determination that there was reasonable cause to believe the company failed to consider U.S. workers from at least March 31, 2024, through at least Jan. 28, 2025. It describes the use of an email address that could not receive applications from outside the company and states that at least one U.S. worker was affected. Those are allegations and agreement recitals, not a tribunal’s finding of liability.

Who can seek back pay i

The $600,000 penalty is payable to the U.S. Treasury. The separate fund is capped at $1.4 million for people DOJ determines are eligible. If the fund reaches its maximum, the two amounts total $2 million—but that is not $2 million in penalties, and the agreement does not guarantee that the full fund will be distributed.

People who believe they qualify must contact DOJ within 180 days of the agreement’s effective date and provide supporting evidence. The process is for people DOJ determines are protected individuals who tried to apply for the covered positions and meet the agreement’s requirements. DOJ will decide eligibility and calculate any back pay; the agreement does not set a final number of eligible claimants. The 180-day period runs from the effective date, not from the public announcement.

PERM limits and three-year compliance term i

Cloudera must withdraw outstanding PERM applications whose recruitment referenced the nonfunctional email address. Its 24-month self-debarment begins on the date of its most recent PERM application withdrawal. During that period, the company may not file PERM applications or post PERM-recruitment advertisements. The restriction is limited to PERM filings and recruitment; it is not a ban on all Cloudera hiring.

The agreement’s compliance term lasts three years—one year longer than the self-debarment. During that term, Cloudera must recruit for PERM positions as it does for comparable non-PERM positions, including posting openings on internal and external career sites, accepting electronic applications and recording applicants in its tracking system. It must also train specified U.S.-based talent acquisition and human-resources personnel, report on PERM recruitment and cooperate with DOJ compliance inquiries. If PERM recruitment resumes during the term, Labor Department provisions require proactive recruitment and an independent third-party auditor.

Separately, Cloudera must take all reasonable steps within 30 days of the agreement’s effective date to join the Department of War’s SkillBridge program. During the agreement term, it must accept five active-duty, National Guard or Reserve members annually, with the intent to hire them for full-time positions. The agreement also requires Cloudera and DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section to jointly file a settlement notice and a motion to dismiss the administrative case with prejudice within 20 days of the effective date.

DOJ identifies Cloudera as a Santa Clara, California-based company.