Facebook, accused of discrimination against Americans, will pay 12 million euros – franceinfo

Facebook gets away with a check. The social media giant agreed, Tuesday, October 19, to pay up to $ 14.25 million (€ 12.25 million) to settle lawsuits against the American authorities who accuse him of having reserved certain well-paid positions for foreign employees to the detriment of American citizens or permanent residents.

The US Department of Justice had indeed filed a complaint at the end of 2020, believing that Facebook had intentionally created a hiring system preventing qualified Americans from having a chance to know and stand for certain positions, by refusing applications, for example. in line. Mark Zuckerberg’s company was in fact reserving these positions for employees already in the company on a temporary visa and eager to obtain a green card, the ministry accused. In his complaint, he referred to at least 2,600 positions posted between January 1, 2018 and September 18, 2019, at an average salary of $ 156,000 per year.

At the start of the year, the Ministry of Labor launched its own survey of the group’s recruitment practices. “Facebook is not above the law and must comply with our country’s civil rights”said Deputy Attorney General Kristen Clarke.

In a message on Tuesday, the group believes they have followed the rules, but said they have reached these agreements to end the prosecution. This allows Facebook “to continue to focus on hiring the best workers, whether from the United States or elsewhere in the world, and to support (its) employees with highly qualified visas seeking permanent residence “, said a spokesperson.

The agreement with the Department of Justice provides in detail for a fine of $ 4.75 million and the payment of up to $ 9.5 million to possible victims of “discrimination” because of their citizenship or immigration status. Mark Zuckerberg’s group is also committed to training its employees more specifically in anti-discriminatory rules related to citizenship or migration status, to display job offers more widely, to accept CVs sent by email and more broadly. all applications sent by Americans. According to the agreement reached with the Ministry of Labor, Facebook has also accepted audits of its practices.