Facebook slapped with $14mn fine by DoJ for discriminating against US workers in jobs

In a major blow to social media giant Facebook, the US Department of Justice has fined the organisation with a penalty of up to $14.25 million to settle civil claims brought by the US government. According to DoJ, the social media company discriminated against workers and violated other federal recruitment rules in the United States. It is worth mentioning that the announcement from the Justice Department came almost eleven months after the department filed a lawsuit that accused Facebook of giving hiring preferences to temporary workers. According to the lawsuit, the social media giant has been practising a discriminatory rule in the country that let the social media giant hire those who hold H-1B visas.

"The Justice Department’s settlement resolves its 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 PERM process," US Department of Justice said in a statement released on October 19. "Additionally, the Labor Department’s settlement resolves issues it separately identified through audit examinations of Facebook’s recruitment activities related to its PERM applications filed with the Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC)," added the DOJ.

Facebook discrimination policy prefer H1-B visa holders: Lawsuit

The DoJ highlighted how the social media giant denied taking applications of US citizens. It noted that 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). The INA generally prohibits employers from discriminating against workers because of their citizenship or immigration status. 

2021: Traumatising year for Facebook

It is worth noting that the recent months have been traumatising for Facebook as it has been facing the wrath from all sectors including the judiciary and European Union for violating General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) norms. Recently, the organisation hit headlines after a former employee and data scientist has revealed how the social media giant prefered its profit over the public good. According to the '60 Minutes' interview, the whistleblower — Frances Haugen — said the founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has always preferred the company's interests over the social evil. "Facebook, over and over again, has shown it chooses profit over safety," said Haugen, who worked at the popular search engine Google and Pinterest before joining Facebook some two years ago.

(With inputs from AP)

(Image: Facebook/@Markzukerberg)