Appeals Court Says Meta Must Face Discrimination Case
July 19, 2024
The United States Court of Appeals has reversed the dismissal of a discrimination lawsuit against Meta, ruling the company must face a class action suit raised by a software engineer claiming it discriminates against US citizens.
Purushothaman Rajaram submitted the lawsuit in 2022, claiming that Meta did not hire him because of its alleged preference for foreign workers, who are typically paid lower wages. Rajaram is a naturalized citizen, meaning he was born outside of the US and successfully applied for citizenship.
Rajaram’s case cites part of a Civil War-era law that was enacted to prohibit discrimination against formerly enslaved Black people. It asserts that all “within the jurisdiction of the United States,” regardless of race, have the same rights in making contracts. Rajaram argued the anti-discrimination measure extends to bias against US citizens.
Rather than directly providing an opinion on the merits of Rajaram’s case, the court’s decision was based on whether this law, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, was applicable on the basis of citizenship. It decided 2-1 that this section does apply to citizenship and, therefore, that the lawsuit can go forward, reversing a lower court’s dismissal of the case.
Meta has denied any wrongdoing in court documents and has said that Rajaram has failed to demonstrate that Meta intentionally discriminated against US citizens.
Rajaram’s case singled out the H-1B program, which “allows employers to hire qualified foreign workers for specialty occupations when there is a shortage of skilled workers authorized to work in the United States,” as one of the judges described.
Because another appellate court, the 5th Circuit, has previously ruled Section 1981 does not apply to discrimination by citizenship, the new ruling creates a split that could potentially end up in the hands of the US Supreme Court.
Meta is not the only company facing such lawsuits. Apple agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit last year when it was accused of favoring immigrant workers over American citizens and green card holders – Apple denies any wrongdoing. Tyson Foods has also been accused of disproportionately hiring foreign and underage workers, a claim the company calls “completely false.”
