WASHINGTON: The US has barred California-based technology company Cloudera Inc.

from participating in the employment-based Green Card process for two years and secured a $2 million settlement over allegations that it discriminated against qualified American workers.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Labour (DOL) jointly announced the settlement. It resolves a lawsuit the Justice Department filed in April, alleging that Cloudera violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by discriminating againstAmerican workers while recruiting for seven positions under the Permanent Labour Certification, or PERM, programme.

Under the settlement, Cloudera will establish a $1.4 million fund to compensate qualified US workers who applied for the positions but were not given fair consideration. The company will also pay $600,000 in civil penalties to the US government.

`There are no exceptions: the Justice Department will hold accountable employers who discriminate against US workers, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department`s Civil Rights Division said.

The warning has wider impli-cations for future employmentbased Green Card applications.

Employers found to have discriminated against qualified American workers could face penalties and restrictions on their ability to sponsor foreign employees, potentially disrupting the permanent residency plans of those workers. The Cloudera case demonstrates how enforcement action against an employer can directly affect foreign professionals seeking Green cards through company sponsorship.

The company will also face enhanced monitoring, revised compliance procedures and reporting requirements designed to preventfuture violations.

The two-year debarment fol-lows the Labour Department`s earlier suspension of Cloudera`s PERM processing. During the debarment period, the company cannot participate in the PERM programme to sponsor foreign workers for employment-based Green cards.

The PERM programme is generally the first major step when a US employer seeks to sponsor a foreign worker for an employment-based Green Card under the EB-2 or EB-3 categories.

Employers must normally demonstrate that no qualified, willing and available American workers could be found for the position and that employing the foreign worker would not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers.