Facebook To Pay $14M To Settle Anti-Discrimination Lawsuit

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• Who: The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Facebook will pay more than $14 million to end legal claims over the social media giant’s hiring practices. 
• Why: Facebook, accused of unlawfully favoring temporary visa holders over US workers, will pay millions to the DOJ and Labor Department, and has also agreed to change its hiring practices.
• Where: The settlement funds will go to the departments, along with individuals allegedly affected by Facebook’s hiring bias.

Facebook will pay $14 to the US Departments of Justice and Labor to end an anti-discrimination lawsuit alleging the company reserved jobs for temporary visa holders rather than hiring US workers.

The $14.25 million payout includes a $4.75 million fine and a fund of up to $9.5 million for individuals impacted by Facebook’s alleged bias. In a separate agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Facebook promised to specially recruit US workers and submit to regular audits, according to a press release from the DOJ and DOL.

In addition, Facebook will be required to conduct more expansive advertising and recruitment for its job opportunities, accept electronic resumes or applications from all U.S. workers who apply and take other steps to ensure that adheres to standard recruitment processes. The settlement represents the largest fine and monetary award that the division ever has recovered in the 35-year history of the Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination provision. 

The settlement resolves claims that Facebook routinely refused to recruit, consider or hire US workers, a group that includes US citizens, US nationals, asylees, refugees and lawful permanent residents, for positions it had reserved for temporary visa holders in connection with the permanent labor certification program (PERM) process. 

“Facebook is not above the law and must comply with our nation’s federal civil rights laws, which prohibit discriminatory recruitment and hiring practices,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s civil rights division. “Companies cannot set aside certain positions for temporary visa holders because of their citizenship or immigration status. This settlement reflects the civil rights division’s commitment to holding employers accountable and eradicating discriminatory employment practices.”

Facebook Discriminated Against US Workers, Claimed DOJ

The DOJ filed the lawsuit in December 2020, alleging that, in contrast to its standard recruitment practices, Facebook used recruiting methods designed to deter US workers from applying to certain positions, such as requiring applications to be submitted by mail only, refusing to consider US workers who applied to the positions and hiring only temporary visa holders. 

According to the lawsuit, Facebook’s hiring process for these positions intentionally discriminated against US workers because of their citizenship or immigration status in violation of the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 

In early 2021, the DOL initiated audit examinations of Facebook’s pending PERM applications to determine compliance with regulatory requirements. As a result of these audits, it identified potential regulatory recruitment violations and sought additional information from Facebook in an effort to confirm that Facebook followed all applicable regulatory requirements regarding the posting and advertisement requirements for these positions.

“This settlement is an important step forward and means that U.S. workers will have a fair chance to learn about and apply for Facebook’s job opportunities,” said Seema Nanda, solicitor at the DOL. “No matter an employer’s size or reach, the DOL is committed to vigorously enforcing the law.”

Have you ever applied for a job at Facebook? What do you think of the Justice Department’s Facebook discrimination lawsuit? Let us know in the comments below.

The U.S. Department of Justice is represented by Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband; Alexander V. Maugeri, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division; deputy special counsel Alberto J. Ruisanchez; special litigation counsel Sebastian Aloot; and Julia Heming Segal, Jasmin Lott, and Erik Lang, trial attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.

The Facebook Anti-Discrimination Lawsuit is U.S. v. Facebook Inc., Case No. unknown, in the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer.

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