Meta sued for hiring foreign workers instead of Americans to save money

U.S. Federal Court Judge Laurel Beeler has ruled that Meta must respond to a lawsuit alleging that its subsidiaries Facebook and Instagram hire foreign workers because they can pay them less than Americans, Reuters reports.

Meta tried to appeal the lawsuit, claiming there was no evidence of discrimination, but to no avail. The judge cited statistics showing that 15% of Meta’s U.S. employees hold H-1B work visas. She also noted that in 2021, the company agreed to pay $14.25 million to settle federal claims over its refusal to hire Americans for positions held by temporary visa holders.

The three plaintiffs, including data scientist Kun Wang, and naturalized U.S. citizens Purushothaman Rajaram, an IT professional, and Ekta Bhatia, a software engineer, allege that they repeatedly applied for jobs at Meta between 2020 and 2024 but were rejected because of the company's "systematic preference" for work visa holders.

Beeler said the three U.S. citizens who accuse Meta of refusing to hire them despite their qualifications can continue their class action lawsuit. She previously dismissed a similar case in 2022, when Rajaram was the only plaintiff.