Feds say Facebook broke US law, offering permanent jobs to H-1B workers

Enlarge / Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. (credit: Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

The United States Department of Justice sued Facebook on Thursday arguing that the social media giant discriminated against US workers by giving preference to Facebook workers on H-1B visas who wanted to transition to permanent jobs at the company.

The H-1B visa program lets foreign workers work at a US company for three years. It can be renewed once. After that, an employer can ask for permission to offer the immigrant a permanent job under the Department of Labor's PERM certification program. But the employer is supposed to first advertise the job to see if any Americans are available. Only if no qualified Americans apply can the job go to the immigrant.

In its lawsuit, the Justice Department argues that Facebook's hiring practices made a mockery of these requirements. Most Facebook jobs are advertised online, and job seekers can apply online. By contrast, Facebook overwhelmingly placed its legally mandated ads for PERM jobs in print publications. Candidates were required to submit their applications by mail.

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