Department of Justice Sues Tech Company for Discrimination Against U.S. Workers
A technology company in the U.S. has come under fire from the Department of Justice, facing a lawsuit for allegedly discriminating against American workers.
The complaint claims that the company, rather than hiring U.S. personnel, favored candidates holding temporary work visas. There are some odd claims that they actively made it difficult for American applicants to navigate the hiring process.
Cloudera, based in Santa Clara, California, was founded in 2008 by former engineers from Google, Yahoo, and Facebook. The Justice Department contends that their recent actions have violated the Immigration and Nationality Act through deliberate discrimination against American applicants.
The lawsuit states that Cloudera, in what appears to be a significant deviation from standard hiring practices, failed to consider applications from certain American workers. Instead, they allegedly funneled specific job roles to those on temporary visas.
It’s reported that U.S. candidates had to apply through a specific email if they wished to be considered for high-paying positions, but many encountered error messages, leaving them unable to submit their applications successfully.
This situation left the Department of Justice with no record of who had actually applied as Cloudera purportedly claimed they could not find suitable U.S. candidates while seeking to fill these positions with foreign workers.
“Employers cannot use the PERM sponsorship process as a backdoor to discriminate against U.S. workers,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General. “The Department will take action against companies that prevent American workers from applying for American jobs.”
One U.S. worker has reportedly alleged discrimination after receiving a return notice when attempting to apply via the company’s designated email.
In response, Cloudera’s spokeswoman, Hannah Fairbanks, stated that the company values its American workforce and does not discriminate based on citizenship. She noted they have fully cooperated with the Justice Department since the investigation began, attributing the issues to a malfunctioning recruitment email.
Fairbanks expressed confidence that the allegations misrepresent their hiring processes and intentions, insisting that Cloudera is committed to lawful and transparent recruitment. Given the ongoing nature of the matter, she refrained from additional comments.
Cloudera is facing one charge of employment discrimination, particularly concerning the lack of consideration for U.S. workers in their hiring practices.
The company’s reported revenue stood at approximately $869.3 million, following its acquisition in October of the previous year for around $5.3 billion.
