US sues Facebook for 'favouring' immigrants over American workers in hiring process

On December 2, US Department of Justice announced filing a lawsuit against Facebook Inc. for discriminating against American workers. In the court’s filing, the department alleged that the social media giant favoured the H-1B Visa workers and other temporary visa holders from other countries, undermining the potential of America’s homeland workers.

As per the filing, Facebook refused to recruit, consider, or hire qualified and available U.S. workers for over 2,600 positions. The lawsuit further alleged that the social media firm vouched for permanent work authorization (or 'green cards') in connection with the permanent labor certification process (PERM).

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"The Department of Justice’s lawsuit alleges that Facebook engaged in intentional and widespread violations of the law, by setting aside positions for temporary visa holders instead of considering interested and qualified US workers," Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division said in government’s official release.

The lawsuit follows a nearly two-year investigation into Facebook’s practices and a 'reasonable cause' determination by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the Assistant Attorney General informed. Alleging that Facebook denied the employment opportunities by "illegally" preferring temporary visa holders, Dreiband said that the Department of Justice will hold them accountable. 

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Zero or one US worker applicants

As per reports, the US Department of Justice audited the hiring at Facebook between Jan. 1, 2018, until at least Sept. 18, 2019. It was found that the social media giant routinely preferred temporary visa holders (including H-1B visa holders) due to the employee's immigration status. The formal complaint alleged that Facebook also made the majority of job openings to the temporary visa holders at the expense of US workers by selectively advertising the vacancies on its careers website. Reportedly, the company recruited foreign employees via mail only.

"In its investigation, the department determined that Facebook’s ineffective recruitment methods dissuaded US workers from applying to its PERM positions," the lawsuit alleged. Further, in the release, the US department concluded that during the relevant period, Facebook received zero or one US worker applicants for 99.7 percent of its PERM positions.

The lawsuit was filed under the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Protecting US Workers Initiative, which started in 2017. The programme was aimed at targeting, investigating, and taking enforcement actions against any form of workplace discrimination. 

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(Image Credit: AP)