The judge cited statistics that 15% of Mehta’s U.S. workforce holds H-1B visas [File]
|Photo source: Reuters
The federal judge said Tuesday that the metaplatform must face a lawsuit claiming Facebook and Instagram parents prefer to hire foreign workers because it can pay less than American workers.
Three U.S. citizens accused Meta of refusing to hire them, but they were eligible and could otherwise take a proposed class action lawsuit, said Laurel Beeler, a U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco.
Plaintiffs – Information Technology Worker Purushathaman Rajaram and software engineer Ekta Bhatia, both naturalized U.S. citizen and data scientist Qun Wang – said they each applied for several meta jobs between 2020 and 2024, but due to Meta’s “System Preference”, therefore visa holders were rejected.
Meta said in a statement that the allegations were groundless and that it would continue to vigorously defend itself.
In seeking a dismissal, California-based Menlo Park said there was no evidence that it intended to discriminate, or that they would hire plaintiffs if they were not U.S. citizens.
But the judge believes the statistics are that 15% of Meta’s U.S. workforce holds an H-1B visa, which is usually provided to foreign professionals, and 0.5% of the overall workforce.
She also listed Meta’s October 2021 agreement that would pay up to $14.25 million, including civil fines to address jobs that the federal government claims it normally refuses to keep American workers for temporary visa holders.
“These allegations support the plaintiff’s overall complaint that they were not employed because of the Meta-favored H-1B visa holders,” Beeler wrote.
The administration sued Meta in December 2020, seven weeks after President Donald Trump ended his first White House term.
“We hope the lawsuit will help correct the preference for visa workers common in the tech industry,” Daniel Low, attorney for three plaintiffs, said in an email. “A full resolution of the issue will require additional enforcement or legislation,” said Daniel Low, the attorney for three plaintiffs. reform.”
Beeler dismissed an earlier version of the lawsuit in November 2022, which only refers to Rajaram as the plaintiff.
The split federal appeals court resumed the case last June, saying Civil War-era laws prohibit contractual discrimination based on “estrangement” to protect American citizens from prejudice.
Many conservative groups listed Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, challenging the diversity initiatives in the workplace, which Trump also opposed.
The case is Rajaram et al., V Meta Platforms Inc, No. 22-02920, U.S. District Court, North District, California.
publishing – February 26, 2025 at 10:17 am
