By: Patricia Gannon, Esq. and Marcela Bermudez, Esq.
Sponsoring foreign workers for green cards offers numerous benefits to employers and workers, but businesses face significant risk without proper vigilance and guidance. For companies partaking in the process, federal enforcement of hiring practices is no longer a secondary matter. It is now at the forefront, with the Cloudera case serving as a clear warning of what happens when employers get PERM compliance wrong.
What Is the Cloudera Lawsuit?
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a lawsuit against Cloudera, a California-based technology company, for allegedly violating the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The DOJ claims Cloudera systematically discriminated against U.S. workers during its PERM recruitment process.
The PERM process, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), requires employers to make a genuine, documented effort to recruit U.S. workers before sponsoring a foreign national for permanent residency. The legal standard requires that if a qualified U.S. worker is available and willing, the employer must hire that person.
“Protecting the integrity of our immigration and labor systems requires employers to follow the law and provide American workers a fair opportunity to compete for jobs,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. “Today’s action reflects this Administration’s commitment to holding bad actors accountable when they attempt to circumvent those protections.”
Why Enforcement Is Intensifying
The DOL Project Firewall initiative has increased federal scrutiny of hiring practices in numerous industries. The program targets wage violations, retaliation against workers, and unfair hiring. PERM compliance remains a core component of this initiative.
Employers who run different hiring methods, one for the public and one that steers roles toward foreign nationals, face significant legal risk. That includes civil penalties, back pay obligations, and reputational damage that is difficult to undo.
What Proper PERM Compliance for Recruitment Looks Like
Staying compliant with immigration law involves transparency, consistency, and documentation.
Every job posting must adhere to the role’s actual requirements. Qualifications cannot be written to fit a specific foreign worker’s resume. All applicants, U.S. workers and foreign nationals, must be evaluated using the same criteria. Rejections of U.S. applicants must be documented with clear, lawful reasons tied to the job requirements.
We cannot use a backchannel process to pre-select a foreign national before U.S. recruitment is complete, as the DOJ and DOL are increasingly focused on identifying these patterns.
Steps to Take to Remain in Good Standing With PERM Compliance
As federal enforcement tightens, summer can be a good time to get ahead of potential scrutiny. Make sure to:
- Audit your job descriptions: Have minimum requirements reflect genuine business needs, not the credentials of a worker already identified for sponsorship.
- Review your applicant tracking records: Every rejection of a U.S. worker in a PERM-linked role needs a documented, job-related reason. Gaps in documentation are red flags in any government investigation.
- Examine your internal communications: Emails, instant messages, and hiring notes that suggest a role was pre-determined for a foreign national can become evidence.
- Confirm the PERM process: Ensure the recruiting team understands the rules before the next PERM cycle begins.
Access Help to Meet PERM Compliance Standards
PERM enforcement is active, and the government is bringing cases. Employers who treat the recruitment process as a paperwork exercise, rather than a genuine effort to find U.S. workers, are accepting legal risk they may not fully appreciate. A compliance review now costs far less than a DOJ investigation later.
For businesses that need help clarifying PERM recruitment procedures or want a compliance review, the immigration attorneys at Greenspoon Marder are ready to help.
