The America First-focused Trump Administration is going after Facebook for allegedly discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of immigrants.
The Department of Justice has sued the company alleging it "refused to recruit, consider, or hire qualified and available U.S. workers for over 2,600 positions that Facebook, instead, reserved for temporary visa holders it sponsored for permanent work authorization (or “green cards”)."
It is seeking "appropriate" civil penalties--it did not suggest a figure--back pay for U.S. workers denied employment due to the alleged discriminations and an end to the alleged discrimination.
Related: Trump's Reported Visa Suspension Draws High-Tech 'Boos'
DOJ said the suit comes after a two-year investigation that found that the company intentionally created a system that denied qualified U.S. workers a fair shot at jobs averaging over $150,000 per year.
"Our message to all employers — including those in the technology sector — is clear," said assistant attorney general Eric S. Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division, "you cannot illegally prefer to recruit, consider, or hire temporary visa holders over U.S. workers.”
DOJ said Facebook failed to advertise the openings on its careers web site.
The tech sector has been a big critic of the Trump immigration policies and their impact on securing top talent from abroad.
For example, the Consumer Technology Association has also long pushed for allowing more high-skilled workers into the country to diversify the tech brain trust.
"Facebook has been cooperating with the DOJ in its review of this issue and while we dispute the allegations in the complaint, we cannot comment further on pending litigation," said a spokesperson for the company.
