United States of America Vs. Silicon Valley | Opinion On 3/11/21 at 8:00 AM EST
Riots, rallies and a contested presidential election last year made it easy to miss the Justice Department s lawsuit against Facebook in December. Silicon Valley s crown social media network, Justice alleges, systematically discriminates against hiring qualified Americans in favor of foreign visa-holding workers.
Investigators found Facebook creates permanent positions open only to H-1B visa holders while employing deceptive tactics to deliberately avoid hiring Americans. These practices are an open secret in the industry, and the lawsuit sheds light on the systemic nature of the problem.
Here s how this scheme works. Employers are not required to prove they first sought qualified Americans for jobs they petition H-1B visa workers to fill, but the employment-based green card sponsorship process does. Because the H-1B is a dual-intent visa, an individual can simultaneously hold a tem