Facebook to pay $ 14 million after US lawsuit for employment discrimination

Facebook agreed to pay up to $ 14 million to settle a U.S. government lawsuit accusing the tech giant of favoring immigrants who aspire to thousands of high-paying jobs, authorities announced Tuesday.

US prosecutors alleged that Facebook "fairway" jobs toward visa holders by avoiding advertising them on your recruiting website and by accepting only physically mailed applications or directly refusing to consider U.S. workers.

The lawsuit, filed in December 2020, represents a new front in the mounting judicial, regulatory and antitrust pressure on the social media giant, which reaches billions of people around the world with its platforms.

"Facebook is not above the law and must comply with our nation’s federal civil rights (protections)", Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.

The company, also in a statement, insisted that it believed "firmly" that it was meeting federal government standards, but agreed to end the litigation and "go ahead".

"These resolutions will allow us to continue to focus on hiring the best employees from both the United States and around the world."a spokeswoman said.

Under the Justice Department settlement, Facebook will pay $ 4.75 million to the United States and up to $ 9.5 million to eligible individuals affected by the company’s alleged discrimination.

The social network must also train its employees on anti-discrimination measures in US immigration law and do more to recruit American workers.

The lawsuit targeted more than 2,600 positions, with an average salary of about $ 156,000, offered from January 2018 through September 2019.

Prosecutors alleged that the internet giant reserved positions for candidates with H1-B visas from "skilled worker" or other temporary work visas.

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Skilled worker visas are valuable to Silicon Valley tech companies looking for engineers and other highly skilled talent, with Asia being home to many highly sought after workers.

The agreement comes amid the storm of criticism that Facebook faced on behalf of the whistleblower who leaked internal studies showing that the company knew that its sites could be harmful to the mental health of young people.

US authorities have struggled to regulate social media platforms like Facebook, amid allegations that tech giants are trampling on privacy and providing a megaphone for dangerous misinformation.

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