Facebook is accused of discriminating against American workers |
The US Department of Justice has accused Facebook of hiring US workers.
The ministry said: Facebook has encouraged temporary work, including temporary workers with H-1B visas.
US employers can use H-1B visas to temporarily hire foreign workers in the private sector.
The Justice Department said Facebook is refusing to hire skilled US workers in more than 2,600 jobs, which in many cases translates into an average annual salary of $ 156,000.
The ministry added that Facebook had decided to fill jobs with temporary visa holders with H-1B visas instead of hiring American workers.
The Justice Department said: Facebook deliberately created a recruitment system where skilled American workers do not have a fair chance to study and apply for jobs.
Instead, she added, the social media company was trying to target the work for temporary visa holders.
Facebook spokesman Daniel Roberts (Daniel Roberts) said: Facebook is working with the Justice Department to review the case, but we deny the allegations in the complaint.
The complaint reads: Facebook's discriminatory recruitment behavior has become a regular, persistent, and pervasive behavior that discriminates and harms American workers by reducing their demand and employability.
Prosecutors said there had been double standards since at least early 2018, but that it had not yet been established.
The tech industry often uses H-1B visas to bring highly skilled foreign workers to the United States.
Critics say visa laws are lax and that it has become increasingly easy to replace American workers with low-paid foreign workers.
The lawsuit against Facebook is the latest example of a spat between the Trump administration and Silicon Valley over an attempt to restrict immigration of foreign workers.
The Department of Justice has investigated similar allegations against Facebook against large tech companies in the past, but it has rarely made allegations due to loopholes in the law.
Tech companies oppose measures to curb the migration of the foreign workforce, saying there aren't enough Americans to meet the demand for jobs in areas like artificial intelligence.
In June, Trump issued a presidential proclamation temporarily banning foreign workers from entering H-1B visas.